London, England - The Muslim teaching assistant who sparked a political storm after she refused to remove her veil during lessons, has won her employment tribunal case for victimisation against the school which suspended her but lost her claims for discrimination and harassment.
Ms Azmi was awarded £1,000 for "injury to feelings" after she succeeded in her claim of victimisation. But her claims of direct and indirect discrimination, and her claim of harassment, were dismissed.
Kirklees Council suspended Aishah Azmi, 24, after she refused to remove her veil while teaching at Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.
The school said face-to-face communication was essential for Ms Azmi's job as a bilingual support worker. The case fuelled an ongoing debate about the use of the veil and the way that the Muslim community integrates into British society.
In a statement Mrs Azmi said she was considering an appeal against the decision to dismiss three of her claims. "It is clear that discrimination against me has taken place and I am disappointed that the Employment Tribunal has not been able to uphold that part of my claim," she said.
"I am taking the advice of my legal team at Kirklees Law Centre and will be looking to appeal against that decision. However, I am pleased that the tribunal have recognised the victimising way in which the school and the local education authority have handled this matter and the distress that has caused me."
She criticised the political involvement in the issue: "Sadly the intervention of ministers in my case (against the ministerial code) makes me fearful of the consequences for Muslim women in this country who want to work."
Mrs Azmi has said she was willing to remove her veil in front of children - but not when male colleagues were present. It emerged she had not worn the veil during her job interview.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said the veil row was part of a necessary debate about the way the Muslim community integrates into British society. The debate was sparked by the Leader of the House of Commons Jack Straw when he said that the wearing of full veils - or niqab - made community relations more difficult.
On Tuesday, Mr Blair said the veil worn by hundreds of Muslim women in the UK is a "mark of separation" which makes people of other ethnic backgrounds feel uncomfortable. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell described the veil as a "symbol of women's subjugation to men" and suggested that women wearing it "cannot take their full place in society". Mr Blair stressed that he was not suggesting women should be ordered to remove their veils. He said he could "see the reason" why Kirklees Council chose to suspend Mrs Azmi for refusing to remove her veil in the classroom. While stressing that such decisions were a matter for local authorities, he added: "I do support the authority in the way that they have handled this." He went on: "Difficult though these issues are, they need to be raised and confronted. "
Mrs Azmi claimed the school:
# Directly discriminated against her on the grounds of her religious belief in that it treated her less favourably than it treats or would treat other persons by requiring her to remove the veil, a practice she believes she must observe according to her religion;
# Indirectly discriminated against her by applying a provision, criterion or practice that puts her at a particular disadvantage due to her holding a religious belief that she was obliged to wear the veil;
# Subjected her to detriments as a result of her making an allegation that the school was acting in contravention of the regulations and/or suspected that she was intending to bring a claim under the regulations
# Subjected her to a course of conduct that had the effect of creating intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for her and should reasonably be considered to have had that effect.
She succeeded only in her final claim, that of victimisation, and all three others were dismissed by the tribunal.