Swiss Muslim girls must take swimming classes with boys: Europe court

10 January 2017, 4:00 pm

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Muslim parents in Switzerland cannot refuse to send their daughters to school-run swimming lessons with boys, Europe’s top rights court says, dismissing a challenge by a Turkish-Swiss couple claiming the rule violates their beliefs.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) accepted that the refusal by Swiss authorities to exempt the couple’s two daughters from the compulsory lessons interfered with their freedom of religion.

But the interference, it ruled, was justified by the need to protect the children from social exclusion.

School has become the focal point in several high-profile battles between Swiss authorities and Muslim families who say their religion prevents their children from participating in some mixed activities.

— AFP