Sikh girl wins school battle of the bangle

A Sikh teenager was a victim of unlawful discrimination when she was excluded from school for wearing a religious bangle similar to one worn by England cricketer Monty Panesar.

The High Court ruled today that she was right to refuse to remove the bracelet because it was central to her faith.

Sarika Watkins-Singh, 14, will return to Aberdare Girls' School in south Wales after the summer holidays, proudly wearing the slim steel Kara bracelet.

Outside court, she said: "I just want to say that I am a proud Welsh and Punjabi Sikh girl."

Her lawyers had told Mr Justice Silber that the Kara was as important to her as it was to the England spinner, who is regularly pictured wearing the bangle.

But the school said the bangle broke its "no jewellery" policy and argued that it engendered similar emotions to displaying the Welsh flag.

As a result Sarika, of mixed Welsh and Punjabi origin, was taught in isolation and even accompanied to the toilet by a member of staff who waited outside. She was eventually excluded last November for refusing to take off the bangle.

Today, the judge declared that the school was guilty of indirect discrimination under race relations and equality laws.

Anna Fairclough, Liberty's legal officer who was representing Sarika, said: "This common sense judgment makes clear you must have a very good reason before interfering with someone's religious freedom.

"Our great British traditions of religious tolerance and race equality have been rightly upheld today."

Sarika, from Cwmbach, added: "I am overwhelmed by the outcome and it's marvellous to know the long journey I've been on has finally come to an end. I'm so happy to know that no one else will go through what me and my family have gone through."

The judge said today that the Aberdare school had agreed to take her back in September, when she would start preparing for her GCSEs.

In his judgment, he said the Kara was regarded universally by practising Sikhs as an important part of their religious observance. It could not be seen under long sleeves, and Sarika was willing to remove it for safety reasons during games.

He criticised the school for linking the Kara to the Welsh flag as a "seriously erroneous attitude because it totally ignored the religious importance of the Kara".

Aberdare had also refused to let Sarika appeal her exclusion while she attended Mountain Ash Comprehensive, where she was allowed to wear the bracelet.

The judge said the school's governing body accepted that the way it conducted the appeal was unfair. He also rejected its argument that the Kara, as a piece of jewellery, might be seen as a symbol of affluence and allowing Sarika to wear it would be widely misinterpreted by other pupils.