Prague Court Rejects Hijab-Wearing Student's Discrimination Claim

The Prague district court rejected an appeal of the Somali-born student, who accused the authorities of a Czech nursing school of discriminating against her because she wears a hijab, according to media reports.

PRAGUE (Sputnik) — The Prague district court rejected an appeal of a refugee student, who accused the authorities of a Czech nursing school of discriminating against her because she wears a hijab, local media reported Friday.

The Somali-born student claimed that although she had reached an agreement with the school authorities on wearing a hijab in 2013, the school's leadership later insisted on a total ban on hijabs on its territory, referring to the school's regulations.

The student demanded an apology and 60,000 Czech korunas ($2,400) in compensation from the school authorities, while the court decided to reject the claim, Radio Praha reported.

The school headmistress stressed that the girl failed to prove the discrimination and to fulfill the criteria for admission to the school, since she did not submit a residence permit, so formally she was not a student and could not be subjected to discrimination at the college, according to the newspaper.

The Czech law does not ban hijabs in general but educational institutions have a right to set their own regulations.