Court revokes Muslim headscarf ban in schools in Swedish town


A court has reversed a ruling which bans the wearing of the Islamic headscarf by Muslim students in schools in a southern Swedish town, a report said Wednesday.

According to Anadolu Agency (AA), the Malmo Administrative Court of Appeals reversed a previous decision on the headscarf for violating the constitution and freedom of religion.

The ban was imposed by the town of Skurup, which is located in the southern county of Skane.

A statement by the ombudsperson said that the appeal had been made for violating the Swedish constitution.

The Skurup town council had banned the headscarf for students under the age of 13 last year. However, one of the school principals in the area had said that he does not recognize the decision and would not implement it in his school.

European countries have come under fire for their obsession with banning the Islamic headscarf and face veil.

In Sweden, proposals on the issue have been endorsed by MPs from the Centre Party, the Liberals, the Moderates and the Swedish Democrats since 2009.

"Muslims have no business here. They want to destroy and take over the country. I hate all Muslims to the extent that I get sick when I see them," Monika Wollmer from the Sweden Democrats said in 2018.

The annual European Islamophobia Report shows that political and public discourses of Nordic countries continually feature debates on the role of the face veil and the headscarf in public spaces. In Norway, the face veil was banned from schools and nurseries, targeting both the staff and students in the former. However, both in Finland as well as in Sweden, legislative proposals for face veil bans have failed so far.