Sweden’s Supreme Court has overturned a 2019 hijab ban on schoolgirls passed by Staffanstorp municipality. The Court has argued that this violates freedom of expression laws. Pre-schools and primary schools in Staffanstorp, Skåne county in southern Sweden, wanted to prevent children up to the age of six from wearing the hijab, effectively banning children under the age of 12, the Daily Mail reported. .
Politicians in Skarp, another municipality run by the Sweden Democrats, were pushing for a ban for children and staff in pre-schools and primary schools, the Daily Mail reported.
Parliament’s committee on the constitution said it is not a plan to legislate to ban clothing for children in particular schools or in wider society. Both municipalities have been raising the issue of hijab for many years.
The Supreme Court used Sweden’s freedom of expression law to support its decision, saying religious affiliation expressions such as clothing fall within its purview, the Daily Mail reported.
According to a report, Justice Ulrich von Essen has said in a press release that restricting the right to wear the hijab has an impact on individuals and is therefore a limitation of freedom of expression.
It must be supported by law for the limit to be allowed. Such legal backing is missing in national law, so the municipalities’ decision should be quashed.
