The parents of a Muslim schoolgirl in the UK have been threatened with legal action after she was sent home for wearing a skirt which the school said was too long, the Guardian reports.
Siham Hamud, 12, was sent home from Uxbridge high school in Hillingdon, London, every day in December due to the supposedly excessive length of her skirt.
For years, Siham had worn the ankle-length skirt to school, when last month, she was suddenly told the skirt was not part of the school's uniform.
Typically, girls at the school wear black trousers or a black pleated skirt from specific uniform retailers. However, Siham's father, Idris Hamud, 55, believes shorter skirts go against their religious beliefs.
Per the Guardian, Siham refused to attend school after being told to go home and change.
In response, the school has threatened Hamud and his wife, Salma Yusuf, 44 with legal action over their daughter's "unauthorized" absences.
Siham speaks out about the issue in the video below:
Siham, who is currently learning from home due to the UK's ongoing lockdown, said she felt there was a lack of acceptance of her personal beliefs, per the Guardian. She also described feeling excluded from school life, particularly as she was unable to see her friends.
The 12-year-old admitted to feeling frustrated at the treatment she had been subjected to and hopes regulations will be revised so that other girls in her position are not made to feel marginalized.
The new uniform regulations concerning the length of skirts were reportedly introduced two years ago. However, Siham and her family say they only recently became aware of this change.
And so, each day she was sent home last month, she did not return to school.
Hamud believes there is a lack of tolerance for his family's beliefs, taking to Twitter to write:
"It's sad that in modern-day Britain, a school head teacher can determine the length of a skirt a girl can wear to school with out any regard for her religious beliefs."
Hamud is not the only person who has taken to the platform to condemn the school's decision.
One person tweeted: "SHOCKING and outright Islamophobic! I wore a long skirt to school. What’s happened to human rights and equality now? Funny how a short skirt is fine."
Another said: "Is this school uniform unacceptable? According to @UHSPrincipal & @UxbridgeHighSch yes.
"This muslim girl was sent home from school to change into a shorter than knee-length skirt and threatened with court action. Why are UK schools discriminating against religious groups?"
And there were plenty other critics:
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