A Catholic school in Volendam is within its rights to ban a 15-year-old girl from wearing an Islamic headscarf, a court in Haarlem ruled on Monday.

The court said the ban is in line with the school’s wish to preserve its Catholic character. The school is not limiting freedom of expression or discriminating against the girl on religious grounds, the court said.
The Don Bosco college in the former fishing village introduced the ban last September, several months after Imane Mahssan had requested permission to wear a headscarf and had begun doing so.
The equal opportunities commission earlier ruled in the girl’s favour.