ECHR rejects appeal regarding headscarf ban in Belgium

According to the statement made by the ECHR, a final decision has been reached regarding the appeal filed by 3 Muslim Belgian citizens, born between 2001 and 2004 and living in Maasmechelen, against the headscarf ban implemented in middle schools in the Flemish region.

The court ruled by a majority vote that "the application is inadmissible."

In the reasoning for the decision, it was stated: "The Court noted that in the present case, the contested ban was not limited to the Islamic headscarf, but applied indiscriminately to all visible symbols of belief."

The court argued that the headscarf ban was "proportionate to the aims pursued, such as the protection of the rights and freedoms of others and public order, and was therefore 'necessary in a democratic society'," and noted that it did not violate the "freedom of thought, conscience, and religion."

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Flemish Community Education Council (GO) in Belgium announced in 2009 that it had decided to ban headscarves in all public schools within its jurisdiction in the Flemish part of the country.

A lawsuit filed by 11 parents against the headscarf ban in 2017 resulted in favor of the students, and the Tongeren Court of First Instance in Belgium ruled that the headscarf ban, as per school rules in the Maasmechelen region, was contrary to religious freedoms.

In 2019, the Belgian court of appeal overturned the decision of the Tongeren Court of First Instance, which had lifted the headscarf ban in Flemish schools in the Maasmechelen region.

In 2020, 3 Belgian students applied to the ECHR on the grounds that the ban violated "respect for private life," "freedom of thought, conscience, and religion," "freedom of expression," "the right to education," and the "prohibition of discrimination."

News Source: 12punto

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