Islamic School Flies in the Face of British Law & Customs.

"The Prophet said, 'Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?' The women said, 'Yes.' He said, 'This is because of the deficiency of a woman's mind.'" So said the nasty, raping, thieving, blood-spattered prophet of Islam, as recorded by the most authoritative & esteemed compilation of ahadith in Islamic scripture, Sahih Bukhari, in volume three, book 48, number 826.

This is why women cannot drive in Saudi Arabia. This is why rape victims are prosecuted in most Islamic countries. This is why Islamic schools in the UK feel that they can flout British law & openly exclude women from consideration for employment, as reported by the The Telegraph yesterday (hat-tip to QueeniesSoapbox @QueenLareefer1):

Muslim boys' school bans women from applying for job as science teacher An Islamic school has advertised for a new science teacher but ruled out female applicants A Muslim boys' school is facing claims of segregation after advertising for a temporary science teacher but making clear that women need not apply. The advert published by the outsourcing company Capita requested a "Male Science Teacher" to cover lessons, including some mathematics classes, until the end of the current academic year on a short term contract for up to £150 a day. Secular campaigners said the advertisement was just the latest in a series of demands for religious customs and practices to be "accommodated" in the education system as a result of giving faith groups the power to run schools. It follows a storm over allegations that non-Muslim female staff at the Al-Madinah free school in Derby had been forced to wear headscarves in line with strict Islamic practices. There have also been concerns that girls at other Islamic schools are being required to wear full veils as well as questions over segregation in classes. Capita argued that the exclusion of women could be legally justified but the advert was later withdrawn after a warning from the Department for Education over the need to comply with equality law. The National Secular Society said it had been alerted to the advertisement by a female science teacher who had been looking for work in the Leicester area. Among requirements listed for the job are a good knowledge of the national curriculum and an ability to plan "innovative and engaging lessons". The advert describes the school simply as an Islamic School for Boys in Leicester without specifying which school. Capita refused to confirm the name of the school claiming it was to "protect their confidentiality". But it follows a similar advertisement placed by the Madani Boys School in Leicester last month for the post of "Male Technician" in the IT department. Capita insisted that the male-only requirement was legal under the Equality Act, which allows employers an opt-out from sex discrimination rules in specific circumstances. "These provisions are referred to as occupational requirements and they create exceptions that allow an employer to act in a way that would otherwise be discriminatory," a spokeswoman said. "Capita Education Resourcing is committed to equal opportunities both as an employer, and as an agency for the recruitment and placement of educational staff." But a spokeswoman for the Department for Education said: "Schools must comply with equality law. "We asked Leicester City Council to raise this with the school and the advert has now been withdrawn." Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the NSS said: "Being male isn't a genuine occupational requirement for a science teacher in a state school. Any attempt to try and make it so is unjustifiable. "The Government's encouragement of schools run by religious groups will bring with it increasing demands for religious customs and practices to be accommodated within our education system. "If religious demands to discriminate and segregate along gender lines are accommodated, teachers of the 'wrong sex' will be disadvantaged and children in such schools are unlikely to be adequately prepared for life as equal citizens in a liberal democracy – which should be one of the fundamental aims of education policy. "For some religious groups, it is clear that the primary goal of state education should be to instill parents' religious beliefs in children. "Equality must not be sacrificed in the rush to satisfy their demands."

There is something to be said for the arrogance of the people in charge of these schools. They really are under the impression that their customs override ours once they have installed themselves in our country; such has been the deleterious effect of political correctness & its attendant dogma of cultural relativism. The government needs to come down hard on this kind of thing, as it did not in this case, as people are watching, as reported by the same paper today:

Stop being squeamish Michael Gove: you must take on the Muslim school banning women science teachers The Education Secretary has left it to his officials to deal with a Muslim school who ruled out female applicants for a teaching post, but we need him to bravely take a stand on this important issue, argues Cathy Newman Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, must be breathing a sigh of relief that, after a little quiet pressure from his officials, an Islamic school in Leicester has withdrawn a job advert which made clear women need not apply. Politicians have traditionally been reluctant to intervene in matters of faith, wary of being seen to meddle in deeply-held personal beliefs. But this is surely one area where personal and public interests collide, and the sooner ministers stop being squeamish about it the better. We don't know a lot about the school in question. The advert described it as an Islamic School for Boys in Leicester, but we don't know, for example, how much public money it draws on. In the recent furore over segregation on university campuses, it was imperative on the Government to act to prevent men and women being separated during religious meetings because universities are funded by the state, and therefore the laws of the land must apply. That's equality laws in case you're wondering. That appears to be what has happened in this case. The Education Department called Leicester council to remind them that schools must comply with equality law, and the advert was promptly withdrawn. Even so, the outsourcing company which published the ad insisted it was legal under the Equality Act, which allows employers to opt-out from sex discrimination rules in certain circumstances. Where the law is open to interpretation, we rely on politicians for clarification. But when it comes to religion, they've been nervous about doing so in the past. They shouldn't be. Believers' religious rights and freedoms should be respected, of course, but there are limits. Those limits were defined a year ago by the European Court of Human Rights, which effectively ruled that equality laws should trump personal religious beliefs in the case of three appeals launched by British Christians. Race, faith or gender should not be allowed to divide us. So it's to the Education Secretary Michael Gove's credit that he spoke out forcefully a few months ago when university bosses endorsed the segregation of audiences at debates organised by hard-line Islamic speakers. Universities UK was, he said, "pandering to extremism" and it was "a disgrace". Also last year, David Cameron said he would "back up" schools and courts asking people to remove Muslim veils, though he didn't believe the niqab should be banned in all public places. Previously, though, politicians have got into terrible trouble for straying into this area, and have subsequently fought shy of doing so. When the former Home Secretary Jack Straw said he'd rather veils weren't worn at all, Oliver Letwin, now a Cabinet Office minister, said it would be a "dangerous doctrine" to start telling people how to dress, even though that wasn't quite what Mr Straw was doing. George Galloway called on Mr Straw to resign. Cameron Straw Letwin Galloway At time of writing, Mr Gove has left it to his officials to deal with the Leicester school issue, and there has been very little political noise about it. But perhaps the Education Secretary should feel free to make a fuss himself. The journalist and author Yasmin Alibhai-Brown has a few pointers about what he might say. "Centuries back only men taught in boys' schools and created barbarians. Why should boys not have powerful women instructing them?" she told me. She firmly believes politicians are wary of getting involved because "everybody tries not to make trouble". Are we somehow embarrassed about tackling the clash between religious and other freedoms? "Yes, and becoming more and more so, because faith is becoming overly influential in schools in particular," she says. As the minister in charge, Mr Gove needs to do what he's done before, and take a stand.