Girl excluded from school for wearing hijab

Galician authorities say they will not interfere in latest Muslim headscarf controversy.

The debate over the rights of Muslim children to wear a hijab has been reignited in a Galician school. A girl attending the CEIP infant and primary education center in Arteixo was recently excluded from classes for sporting the Muslim headscarf.

In a similar case in Madrid, 16-year-old Najwa Malha was expelled from the Camilo José Cela High School in Pozuelo de Alarcón. The school said it was adhering to rules banning any form of headwear in its classrooms. Malha eventually transferred to another center.

The family of the girl in Galicia was offered the same recourse, but refused. There is no central law on the matter in Spain, with all schools able to make their own rules. The Galician Junta said on Monday that it would "not interfere" with the autonomy of its centers.

(Published by El País - February 28, 2011)