LONDON: A 14-year-old Muslim girl in Spain was kicked out of an exam in her Madrid secondary school after she refused to take off her headscarf, local Spanish newspaper 20 Minutos reported on Tuesday night. Eivan Khemins Eibar, the girl's lawyer and a specialist on discrimination cases, sent a report to the school manager saying the student did not do anything wrong in wearing the higab. It comes as Europe continues to clampdown on the headscarf, which is often worn by Muslim women. Already, France and Belgium have banned the full-face veil, or niqab, and dished out fines on women who refuse to remove the veil in public. “This is a travesty of justice and a day of shame for France. These women are being punished for wearing what they want,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia. “Instead of protecting women's rights, this ban violates their freedom of expression and religion.” The ban in France is on all face coverings in public places including streets, schools trains and government buildings. It came into effect on April 11 and has angered Muslim groups in the country and in Europe, who argue it is directed at Muslims in particular. “We fear that women in France who choose to wear the niqab in public now feel confined to their homes, because it is illegal for them to walk down the streets of their own country dressed as they wish to be dressed,” added Dalhuisen. BM
