Court rejects hijab complaint from former nursing student

A Prague court has rejected a complaint of alleged discrimination filed by a young Somali woman who left a Prague nursing school because she was not allowed to wear a headscarf. She sued the school, seeking an apology and 60,000 crowns in compensation. The court ruled that there was no evidence of discrimination. The school headmistress argued that wearing a hijab was unacceptable at a nursing school and that hospitals where nurses were sent on training would not accept it. She moreover argued that the said student had failed to fulfil the criteria for admission by not producing a residence permit by the set date and had only come up with the hijab as her reason for leaving the school later. The case evoked heated emotions and at one point the judge ordered the courtroom cleared.