European Court
of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled in favour of Switzerland's educational
authorities for Muslim girls to take mixed swimming lessons with boys. It
comes
after two Swiss-Turkish parents from Basel, Aziz Osmanoǧlu and Sehabat Kocabaş
had refused to send their daughters to mixed swimming lessons on the basis of
their religion.
The Turkish
parents were ordered to pay a fine of CHF 350 per parent and child, a total of
CHF 1,400 for 'acting in breach of their
parental duty' in 2010.
At the court
hearing Tuesday, a panel of seven judges who gave backing to the fines, also
revealed that the freedom of religion had been 'interfered with'. But the
interference, it said, was justified by the need to protect the children from
social exclusion.
The Court
ruled that the school played a special role in the process of social
integration, particularly where children of foreign origin were concerned.
Source:
Aljazeera
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