Lan Rasso. Flickr / Some Rights Reserved
On 14 March, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that companies can ban their employees from wearing the headscarf as long as it is part of a company ‘neutrality’ policy which requests staff to dress ‘neutrally’. The court stated that this ruling did not constitute direct discrimination against any particular religion or belief as all visible religious and political symbols must be prohibited under the regulation. On the surface, the ruling seems to be a positive case for the equal treatment of staff in the face of a controversial issue. However, in analysing the rationale, it becomes evident that the pursuit of neutrality in this case, is, in fact, violating the right to freedom of religion and belief, a fundamental human right.
The ruling is violating the right to freedom of religion and belief, a fundamental human right.
