Three Muslim schoolgirls who have been suspended from their schools in Singapore last February for wearing the tudung (headscarf) are being educated at home by their parents, said their lawyer Karpal Singh.
The three girls, aged six to seven years, were barred from school after the Singapore education ministry issued a directive to principals stating that it is in the interest of racial and religious harmony to forbid the girls from attending school until they remove their headscarves.
They are still not attending school now. I believe some of them are being educated at home, Karpal told malaysiakini today.
Families of the three girls who are Nurul Nasihah Mohd Nasser, Siti Fawwizah Mohd Kassim, and Khairah Faroukh met with Karpal last Thursday in Kuala Lumpur and engaged his counsel in addition to that of their lawyer in Singapore, Sadari Musari.
The family of a fourth girl, Sheila Zulkifli, 17, who was barred from class in 1997, is also bringing a case against the city-state.
According to Karpal, a case would be filed as early as possible and following that, an application would be made for him to represent the girls in the Singapore courts.
The most important thing now is for us to obtain a declaration that the ban (on headscarves) was unconstitutional and unlawful, Karpal added.
He said the families will also be seeking damages from the state for the deprivation of the girls constitutional rights.
However, he declined to comment on the damages that the families were seeking.
Purely legal matter
Meanwhile, Sadari was quoted yesterday in a British Broadcasting Corporation report as saying the lawsuits should be filed with the Singapore High Court within the next two weeks.
Karpal was also reported as saying the case is purely a legal one and there should not be a political dimension attached to it.
The predicament faced by the schoolgirls has attracted the attention of Malaysian politicians who have criticised the banning of headscarves in Singapore as discriminatory against Muslims.
In response, Singapore leaders said Malaysia should refrain from interfering in the city-states internal affairs as it could cause a conflict between the two countries.
Muslim Affairs Minister Yaacob Ibrahim wants Muslim Singaporeans to settle the tudung issue without being confrontational or getting outsiders involved.
He was referring to the latest development in the matter, when three fathers who insist their daughters be allowed to wear the headscarf to school, engaged Malaysian lawyer Karpal Singh to fight their case in the Singapore courts.
The matter is a domestic one, said Yaacob, and should thus be settled internally.
