Beorn
06-12-2009, 07:24 PM
Classroom assistant at Muslim girls' school forced out of job by parents who believed she was a man
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/06/12/article-1192528-0551A00C000005DC-324_468x286.jpg
A classroom assistant has quit her job at a strict Muslim girls' school after parents launched an email campaign claiming she was a man.
Shifa Patel, who dressed traditionally in a hijab and full-length robe while at work, had to submit herself to a humiliating medical examination after the petition demanded she prove her gender.
The headteacher at Al-Islah Muslim Girls' School in Blackburn, Lancashire, even sent a letter to parents reassuring them that Ms Patel was female in an attempt to quash the growing discontent.
But police had to be called in when an angry mob of parents gathered at the school gates demanding that she be sacked.
The assistant then took the decision to save the school and herself from any more grief and tendered her resignation.
The hate campaign is believed to have begun when photographs of Ms Patel with short hair and wearing a shirt and trousers were copied from internet site Facebook. These were then circulated by email.
A distraught Ms Patel, whose age is not known, said: 'I have irrefutable medical evidence that I'm a woman.
'The people who have done this to me have hurt me so badly. I will never forgive those who did this to me and spread these lies.'
In some of the photographs circulated, Ms Patel is pictured next to acting head teacher Fatima Patel.
Fatima Patel said: 'When some parents approached me I told them I will take the Quran in my hand and swear to tell the truth. But they were more concerned about obtaining a GP's certificate for Shifa.'
She added: 'What does that say about some people? Some of the parents have been very supportive.'
The school's governing body also backed Ms Patel, saying her 'unquestionable work ethic and professionalism had never been in doubt.'
Sgt John Rigby, of Lancashire Constabulary's minority team, said: 'This is an entirely internal school matter and police attended simply to calm the situation down.'
Al-Islah Muslim Girls' School is privately-run and has nearly 200 students.
It occupies the first floor of a red-brick mosque in Blackburn.
While it is a girls' school it takes a handful of boys at primary level each year. All students must adhere to a strict uniform code.
Music is viewed as un-Islamic and girls studying for the GCSEs are taught Islamic studies rather than religious education and Arabic and Urdu instead of modern European languages.
Source (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1192528/Classroom-assistant-Muslim-girls-school-forced-job-parents-believed-man.html)
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/06/12/article-1192528-0551A00C000005DC-324_468x286.jpg
A classroom assistant has quit her job at a strict Muslim girls' school after parents launched an email campaign claiming she was a man.
Shifa Patel, who dressed traditionally in a hijab and full-length robe while at work, had to submit herself to a humiliating medical examination after the petition demanded she prove her gender.
The headteacher at Al-Islah Muslim Girls' School in Blackburn, Lancashire, even sent a letter to parents reassuring them that Ms Patel was female in an attempt to quash the growing discontent.
But police had to be called in when an angry mob of parents gathered at the school gates demanding that she be sacked.
The assistant then took the decision to save the school and herself from any more grief and tendered her resignation.
The hate campaign is believed to have begun when photographs of Ms Patel with short hair and wearing a shirt and trousers were copied from internet site Facebook. These were then circulated by email.
A distraught Ms Patel, whose age is not known, said: 'I have irrefutable medical evidence that I'm a woman.
'The people who have done this to me have hurt me so badly. I will never forgive those who did this to me and spread these lies.'
In some of the photographs circulated, Ms Patel is pictured next to acting head teacher Fatima Patel.
Fatima Patel said: 'When some parents approached me I told them I will take the Quran in my hand and swear to tell the truth. But they were more concerned about obtaining a GP's certificate for Shifa.'
She added: 'What does that say about some people? Some of the parents have been very supportive.'
The school's governing body also backed Ms Patel, saying her 'unquestionable work ethic and professionalism had never been in doubt.'
Sgt John Rigby, of Lancashire Constabulary's minority team, said: 'This is an entirely internal school matter and police attended simply to calm the situation down.'
Al-Islah Muslim Girls' School is privately-run and has nearly 200 students.
It occupies the first floor of a red-brick mosque in Blackburn.
While it is a girls' school it takes a handful of boys at primary level each year. All students must adhere to a strict uniform code.
Music is viewed as un-Islamic and girls studying for the GCSEs are taught Islamic studies rather than religious education and Arabic and Urdu instead of modern European languages.
Source (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1192528/Classroom-assistant-Muslim-girls-school-forced-job-parents-believed-man.html)