Muslim woman suing British school over alleged veil ban

A view of the London skyline shows the City of London financial district, seen from St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. (Reuters)
Updated 21 July 2017
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Muslim woman suing British school over alleged veil ban

DUBAI: A Muslim woman is suing a top London school amid claims she cannot wear her veil on its premises.

Single mother Rachida Serroukh, 37, explained to UK daily, The Guardian, that staff at Holland Park School, in West London, had told her that the ban was part of the school’s “health and safety” rules.

The childcare assistant said she had attended an event for parents of new students when she was approached by a member of staff.

“I was very shaken and was in a state of shock about what had happened. I had never experienced anything like this before.

“I have experienced name calling in the street from strangers about my veil but nothing like this had ever happened before. When I got home, I just broke down.”

She told the newspaper she always lifted her veil and provided photo identification. And she said received “no problem” from security at the school gates.

Responding to a message from Serroukh, the school’s deputy head teacher said in an e-mail that the school had no written policy banning veils.

But he added: “We are now considering a written amendment to our health and safety policy to include this specific requirement.”


Vietnam police find frozen tiger bodies, arrest two men

Updated 14 February 2026
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Vietnam police find frozen tiger bodies, arrest two men

Vietnamese police have found two dead tigers inside freezers in a man’s basement, arresting him and another for illicit trade in the endangered animal, the force said Saturday.
The Southeast Asian country is a consumption hub and popular trading route for illegal animal products, including tiger bones which are used in traditional medicine.
Police in Thanh Hoa province, south of the capital Hanoi, said they had found the frozen bodies ot two adult tigers, weighing about 400 kilograms (882 pounds) in total, in the basement of 52-year-old man Hoang Dinh Dat.
In a statement posted online, police said the man told officers he had bought the animals for two billion dong ($77,000), identifying the seller as 31-year-old Nguyen Doan Son.
Both had been arrested earlier this week, police said.
According to the statement, the buyer had equipment to produce so-called tiger bone glue, a sticky substance believed to heal skeletal ailments.
Tigers used to roam Vietnam’s forests, but have now disappeared almost entirely.