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| School suspends woman over veil | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A Muslim woman has been suspended by a school in West Yorkshire after she insisted on wearing a veil in lessons. | A Muslim woman has been suspended by a school in West Yorkshire after she insisted on wearing a veil in lessons. |
| Bilingual support worker Aishah Azmi, 24, was asked to remove the veil after pupils found it hard to understand her during English language lessons. | Bilingual support worker Aishah Azmi, 24, was asked to remove the veil after pupils found it hard to understand her during English language lessons. |
| Headfield Church of England Junior School, in Dewsbury, said she could wear the veil outside the classroom. | |
| Ms Azmi refused and was suspended pending the outcome of an employment tribunal, Kirklees Council said. | |
| The tribunal heard the case in September and is due to announce its decision within the next two weeks. | The tribunal heard the case in September and is due to announce its decision within the next two weeks. |
| There is no religious obligation whatsoever for Muslim women to cover themselves up in front of primary school children Shahid Malik, Labour MP for Dewsbury | |
| Dewsbury MP Shahid Malik backed the school's decision, saying: "In schools the top priority has got to be the education of our children. | |
| "I fully support the decision of the education authority and the school in requesting that the classroom assistant remove her veil when teaching primary school children. | |
| "I believe the education authority has bent over backwards to be accommodating and has been extremely reasonable and sensible in the decision it has come to. | |
| "There is no religious obligation whatsoever for Muslim women to cover themselves up in front of primary school children." | |
| The school, which has 529 pupils aged seven to 11, takes many children from different ethnic backgrounds where English is not the first language. | The school, which has 529 pupils aged seven to 11, takes many children from different ethnic backgrounds where English is not the first language. |
| Teachers' concern | |
| Kirklees Council's children's services spokesman, Jim Dodds, said: "This has nothing to do with religion, we are simply trying to ensure that our children get the best possible education. | |
| "Both pupils and teachers raised concerns because they were finding it difficult to make out what she was saying during lessons. | "Both pupils and teachers raised concerns because they were finding it difficult to make out what she was saying during lessons. |
| "We have a lot of pupils who do not speak English as a first language and you have to be able to see people's lips move when you are being taught. | "We have a lot of pupils who do not speak English as a first language and you have to be able to see people's lips move when you are being taught. |
| "We asked this young lady to remove her veil when she was teaching English language, but she refused." | "We asked this young lady to remove her veil when she was teaching English language, but she refused." |
| Mr Dodds said that even if Ms Azmi won her case the council would not change its position. | Mr Dodds said that even if Ms Azmi won her case the council would not change its position. |
| "Our only concern is that the children are taught properly," he said. | "Our only concern is that the children are taught properly," he said. |
| Last week, Commons leader Jack Straw angered some Muslims when he said wearing the veil made community relations more difficult. | Last week, Commons leader Jack Straw angered some Muslims when he said wearing the veil made community relations more difficult. |