AN independent school in
Glasgow is being forced to reconsider its policy on uniform after a former pupil's campaign to make the school allow Muslim pupils to wear headscarves.
Craigholme School, an all-girls' school on the city's south side, does not permit pupils to wear the traditional Islamic headscarf, or hijab, because it wants its pupils to look the same and fears the hijab could be a health and safety hazard.
However, former pupils at the school, in St Andrew's Drive, Pollokshields, and the parent of a 13-year-old girl who currently attends Craigholme have decided to speak out against the policy, claiming the current attitude of the school towards Muslims makes them feel like ''aliens''.
The call for change follows a four-month campaign led by Noreen Iqbal, 21, now a law student at Glasgow University.
Ms Iqbal is also pressing the governors at the school to allow Muslim pupils to wear tracksuit bottoms when doing games.
They are currently asked to wear shorts, which some Muslims feel do not provide the covering demanded by their religion.
Ms Iqbal, who left the school in 1998, spoke to Elaine Payne, the school's deputy headmistress, about the problem in November.
She said: ''As a former pupil, I wanted to raise the issue because current pupils are scared of being victimised and of it affecting them academically.''
That meeting persuaded Mrs Payne to discuss the issue with parents, pupils, and teachers in January.
The board of governors at Craigholme will meet at the end of February to decide whether their policy on uniform should be changed.
However, Shaaista Yousaf, whose 13-year-old daughter attends the school, held out little hope for a change in policy because she felt Gillian Burk, the headmistress, was against it.
She said: ''After my daughter passed the entrance exam for the school I called Mrs Burk to say she would have to wear the headscarf, but Mrs Burk said I was the first one to ask about it and it would be impossible. Every time someone makes this request, she always says it is the first time anyone has mentioned it.
''The school wants everybody to be the same but we're not the same.
''I am not happy with Mrs Burk's attitude at all - the girls are made to feel like aliens.''
Halima Islam, 21, who is studying for a law diploma at Strathclyde University, applied for a place at Craigholme School in 1992, but was told that she would not be allowed to wear the hijab.
She said: ''The headmistress said that as I had passed the entrance exam to go to other private schools, then my family had a choice, and if we did not agree with the uniform policy then I should not go to Craigholme.''
Ms Islam accepted a place at Laurel Park School where she was allowed to wear the
headscarf.
Kelvinside Academy, St Aloysius' College, Hutchesons' Grammar School, and the High School of Glasgow all allow their pupils to wear religious garments if required.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said last night that all its schools allow the hijab to be worn.
The Scottish Executive sets out guidelines for state schools on the importance of religious tolerance in schools, but these only cover state schools.
Mrs Payne insisted that she was doing everything possible to resolve the issue and claimed that pupils were only forced to wear shorts when in the gym because tracksuit bottoms could endanger their safety.
''When we held the meeting to discuss this in January, I explained to the pupils that this was not a quick-fix issue.
''To be honest, nobody has ever said anything about this to us before. As soon as this issue was brought up we started doing things about it.''
However, Bashir Maan, a Glasgow city councillor who sent both of his daughters to Craigholme, said that the issue must be resolved immediately.
He said: ''If a girl wants to be modest and wear a headscarf then she should be allowed to. The school should not be delaying this decision.
''It should be going out of its way to help the girls follow their religion.''
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