JEDDAH, 27 January 2003 — In response to a report published by Arab News yesterday, Jeddah Prep and Grammar School said it was reviewing within a few days the policy of a total ban on wearing hijab (headscarf.)
Julian Johansen, chairman of the school’s board of governors, said the issue will be discussed at the board’s scheduled meeting in three weeks time. “We understand the sensitivity of the issue and it will be given special consideration during the board’s next meeting,” he told Arab News.
The issue surfaced when the school, established by the British and Dutch embassies, banned Lujain, a 14-year-old Egyptian Muslim girl, for wearing a headscarf.
In a circular to parents, Nigel Woolnough, the headmaster of the school, confirmed that the report appeared in Arab News on the issue was correct.
He said the governors will meet on Feb. 18 to discuss the issue and hoped that they would take a satisfactory decision.
Arab News also learned that an Education Ministry official in charge of foreign schools will meet with the school authorities today to discuss the matter.
Tarek Mohammed Muneer, the girl’s father, said he had tried his best to convince the school authorities to review the policy, which he claimed was unacceptable in a Muslim country and in a school having a large number of Muslim girls.
He said the school banned his daughter in the middle of the school year and he had faced a lot of difficulties to get her admitted in another school.
Jeddah Prep, a non-profit organization, is run by a board of elected governors. It is supervised by the Ministry of Education and subject to its rules and regulations.
