24 November, 2006

Beyond the veil:

Aishah Azmi, the Dewsbury teaching assistant suspended for wearing a veil in the classroom and subsequently given £1,000 for hurt feelings, has been sacked. From the Daily Telegraph:

When she was interviewed for the job by Geoff Smith, the headmaster, and again at a training day with male staff present she left her face uncovered. She was suspended from the 20 hour a week post in February for failing to obey the headmaster’s instruction to remove the veil when communicating with children and stay in contact with the school or submit sick notes.
Dos anybody spot the hypocrisy?

The Leeds Evening Post details the small fortune she is costing the council tax-payers of Kirklees:
Mrs Azmi was suspended on full pay of between £10,000 and £13,000 in February this year.
Her case was funded by Kirklees taxpayers to the tune of around £10,000, after she won backing from the Kirklees Law Centre.
The case is thought to have cost Kirklees Council's legal team around £20,000 to date and Ms Azmi has indicated in the past that she would challenge any ruling resulting in her being dismissed.
No doubt there will be an appeal, a court case and a visit to the European Court.

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