British High Court Allows Sikh Jewelry in Schools

(London, England) The British High Court ruled today that a 14-year-old Sikh girl (pic), Sarika Watkins-Singh, is excluded from the "no jewelry" rule at Aberdare Girl's School in South Wales.

Watkins-Singh will be allowed to show her devotion to the Sikh faith at school by wearing the kara, a slim steel bracelet.

The decision regarding Watkins-Singh contends that the school had breached her religious and racial rights and unfairly burdened the teenager's freedom of religious expression.

Interestingly, the latest ruling is one of several inconsistent positions taken by British courts regarding religious expression in schools.

Whereas Sikh schoolgirl Watkins-Singh can wear her religious bracelet, Christian schoolgirl Lydia Playfoot was prohibited by the British High Court from wearing a "purity ring" and teacher Aishah Azmi was dismissed for refusing to remove her veil in the classroom. And, teen student Shabina Begum was banned from wearing full Islamic dress at Denbigh High School but only after the House of Lords overturned an earlier court ruling.

Based upon the obvious inconsistency in rulings from the British judiciary, it's hard to dispute the contention that taking a case to a Brit court is like opening a box of chocolates. You don't know what you're going to get.