A Year 12 student has been banned from attending his formal school after he wore a Palestinian headscarf to his graduation ceremony.
The 17-year-old has since filed a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission after he was banned from attending the end-of-year celebration at Condell Park High School in western Sydney on November 28.
During his graduation ceremony in September, the teenager’s older sister had given him a keffiyeh with the traditional black and white print, You could show your Palestinian heritage on the most important day of your school life.
But several teachers accused the boy of making a political statement amid the conflict in the Middle East and demanded that he withdraw it, he told the newspaper. Sydney Morning Herald.
Their demands came despite the school’s long-standing custom of allowing students to display their culture through certain clothing.
He claimed that some staff members even tried to stop him from posing in photographs with other classmates.
“I kept explaining that it’s a cultural thing that I wear on special occasions, but they kept saying I was making a political statement in a public school and I can’t do that,” she told the publication.
“They said it wouldn’t be the smartest decision to continue like this and that I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of the higher-ups so close to the end of the year.”
A Year 12 student has been banned from attending his formal school after he wore a Palestinian headscarf at his graduation ceremony (file image)
Other parents who were at the ceremony asked the staff to drop the topic and let the child wear his scarf.
His family also failed to convince the school that it was simply a tribute to their own heritage.
Two weeks after graduation, the boy was called to a meeting with staff, who informed him that his decision to wear the scarf had disqualified him from attending the formal event.
‘The experience has ruined my memories of high school. “It’s supposed to be a place where I feel safe and they don’t judge me for who I am, but I was wrong,” he said.
Staff at Condell Park High School (pictured) asked the student to remove the garment during the graduation ceremony and accused him of making a political statement.
A NSW Department of Education spokesperson said Condell Park High “will continue to work with the family and their legal representatives to resolve this matter”.
The boy’s lawyer. He sent a complaint to the Department of Education requesting a formal apology and demanded that he be reinvited to attend the formal.
His Attorney Abdullah Reslan of Kings Law Group also added that there should be “laws in place to protect the community against racial discrimination.”
“It is alarming that taxpayer money is being spent on lawyers to prevent an innocent child from attending his party with his peers under these circumstances,” he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Condell Park Secondary School for comment.