Belgian Province Fires Teacher Who Refused to Remove Hijab

East Flanders has dismissed special-education teacher Hadija Amajoud after she refused to remove her hijab while teaching at a provincially run school in Assenede.

Amajoud began working in provincial education in September 2022 and was already wearing the hijab when she was hired.

She received a permanent appointment in January 2024 and had no reported negative performance evaluations.

East Flanders subsequently introduced neutrality rules banning teachers from wearing visible religious, philosophical or political symbols, with limited exceptions for teachers of religion and philosophy.

Amajoud refused to remove her headscarf and her dismissal was confirmed on September 14.

The case is believed to be the first in Flanders in which a teacher has explicitly lost her job for wearing a headscarf.

The province says it is enforcing democratically approved neutrality rules.

Amajoud argues that requiring her to remove the hijab violates her religious freedom.

The ACOD trade union says it will appeal the dismissal to the Chamber of Appeal in Brussels.

The Flemish Institute for Human Rights had previously found discrimination and intimidation in Amajoud’s case, although a court rejected an earlier challenge to the provincial rules.

Sources

• VRT NWS – East Flanders confirms teacher’s dismissal
• The Brussels Times – Flemish teacher fired for refusing to remove headscarf
• Anadolu – Union to appeal dismissal