A Muslim girl refused to attend school because she had to wear the same uniform as non-believers

Press Association:

This was one of the reasons put forward by representatives of 17-year-old Shabina Begum, who won a landmark court victory last March when it was found that her school had infringed her human rights, the law lords were told.

Now her former school - which prided itself in catering for pupils from different faiths - has taken the case to the House of Lords.

Denbigh high school in Luton, Bedfordshire, is asking a panel of five judges to overturn the ruling that found that Shabina was unlawfully excluded when she was sent home to change out of her traditional jilbab into approved school uniform.

Shabina, represented by Cherie Booth QC, took her school's headteacher and governors to court for denying her the "right to education and to manifest her religious beliefs" under the Human Rights Act.

She had worn the shalwar kameez (trousers and tunic) from the time she started at the school at the age of 12 until September 2002, when she and her brother, Shuweb Rahman, told the assistant headteacher, Stuart Moore, that she would wear it no longer because it was against the rules of her religion.

Richard McManus QC, representing the school, said 75% of Denbigh's pupils were Muslim and at the time Shabina was admitted, the headteacher was Muslim and her faith was represented on the parent teacher association and governing body.

He said: "Apart from the Muslim pupils, there were also Hindus and Sikhs and the school wished to be inclusive and attend to the needs of this diverse community."

Mr McManus said that to try to accommodate all faiths, the school had adopted the shalwar kameez, which was a garment worn by many faiths on the Indian subcontinent.

"An important attraction for the school was that the kameez was worn by different faith groups and [it was] hoped that would minimise the differences between them.

"Unfortunately, the reasons for its appeal to the school is the same as one of the objections raised by Miss Begum's advisers in that it is a dress worn by non-believers and not suitable for that reason."

He said that a letter from solicitors acting for Shabina at one stage set out the conditions she had to comply with in her dress code.

One of the objections was that she must not wear a dress "normally worn by disbelieving women".

In another letter, the solicitors said the kameez was not just for Muslims, but for Asian women generally and Shabina should wear a dress "tailored to the requirements of the Muslim community alone".

Mr McManus said the objection was that because the kameez was appropriate for Asians, it was not appropriate for Muslims.

Miss Booth interrupted: "It is not because it is not just a Muslim dress. That is not why we objected to it. It is because it is not modest enough."

Lord Bingham, a former lord chief justice who heads the panel of law lords, said the solicitors' letters were open to different interpretations.

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