BA should be free to ban the cross

A Christian is prevented from wearing a cross at work, though her employer lets Muslim workers wear the hijab, and Sikhs the kara. Clear discrimination, surely? So says Nadia Eweida, who yesterday took her case against BA to the Court of Appeal. Liberty's director Shami Chakrabarti supports her, arguing that BA's policy was an intrusion into religious freedom. Eweida's claim may indeed seem reasonable at first blush, but the principle she and Liberty argue for is wrong. I hope they fail.

Read my full piece on Nadia Eweida's case at Comment is Free.

January 21, 2010

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Discuss: BA should be free to ban the cross

Posted under: Law, Politics, Human Rights, Religion, Society, Equality

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  1. Ruthie
    Wed Mar 24, 2010 at 07.18 pm

    Your argument would stand if there was absolute agreement within faith communities about which modes of dress are a requirement and which are simply a symbol. Many practicing Muslim women choose not to wear a headscarf, just as many observent Jewish men do not wear a skullcap. Indeed allowing Muslim women to wear a headscarf arguably insults those Muslim women who do not as it implies that they are not adhering to a requirement of their faith. Either demonstration of faith through dress is permitted, or it is not. The easiest solution is to prohibit all religious dress or symbols.

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