(Brussels Times) The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that it upholds the ban on hijabs in Flemish Community secondary schools. It rejected the applicants’ complaint that the ban is incompatible with freedom of religion.
The case was brought by three young Muslim women from Maasmechelen (Limburg province) in November 2020. They argued that they are unable to wear the Islamic headscarf in their secondary schools (except in religious education classes), following the ban in the Flemish Community’s official education system on wearing any visible signs of religious beliefs.
The ban in Flemish GO! (community education) schools has been in place since 2013 following a law introduced in 2009. Schools in this particular group must therefore provide “secular” education.
