GIRL BEATS DRESS BAN.

Byline: By Stephen Howard 

A GIRL has won her fight against a school that banned her from class for wearing a traditional Muslim outfit. Shabina Begum, 16, was told she could not attend school in her jilbab, which covers her from head to toe.

The High Court in London had ruled that the ban was not denying her the 'right to education and to manifest her religious beliefs'.

But the Court of Appeal overturned that yesterday, saying Shabina had been unlawfully excluded from Denbigh High School in Luton, Bedfordshire. That ruling will affect every school in England.

Shabina said: 'The decision to prevent my adherence to my religion cannot unfortunately be viewed as merely a local decision taken in isolation.

'Rather, it was a consequence of an atmosphere that has been created in Western societies post 9/11, an atmosphere in which Islam has been made a target for vilification in the name of the 'war on terror'.'

Lord Justice Brooke, vice-president of the civil division of the Court of Appeal, said children at Denbigh were from 21 different ethnic groups.

The judge said the school featured in a Department of Education video on ethnic minority achievement.

But he added: 'The school did exclude the claimant. They told her, in effect, 'Go away, and do not come back unless you are wearing proper uniform.' ' The ruling does not apply in Scotland. An Executive spokeswoman said: 'Dress codes are a matter for each council.'

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BLAMING 9/11: Shabina