A teacher at a school in Gothenburg asked a male student to change out of the Muslim festive dress he wore to school, directly from an Eid celebration. This was not something the teacher should have done. The incident was reported to the Discrimination Ombudsman (DO), who in a decision stated that the student “has been subjected to harassment” and a “particularly serious violation”.

The school’s management also receives criticism from the authority for “not fulfilling its obligation to investigate the situation and take action” against the teacher. The school claimed to have handled the matter adequately by talking to the student’s guardian, but DO disagrees.

The student complied with the teacher’s request and changed into other clothes at the time. The reason for the reprimand was that the religious clothing was “inappropriate” in the non-denominational environment that the school should be and was “provocative” to non-Muslims.

“Questioning the clothes one wears is very offensive, especially when there is a connection to religion or ethnic background. Here, it is also a teacher who is offending the student, which makes it particularly serious,” says Vanessa Grapenstedt, process leader at DO in a comment on the authority’s decision.

Enough to “consider oneself” harassed

The authority refers in the decision to the discrimination law and writes that “an educational provider who becomes aware that a student considers themselves to have been subjected to harassment or sexual harassment in connection with the activities, is obliged to investigate the circumstances and take measures that can reasonably be required to prevent harassment in the future“.

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The reprimand, according to DO, meets the definition of “harassment“. The Muslim student has therefore been offended in their “dignity” and “religious beliefs“. It is written – without a source reference – that “discrimination, including harassment, is a big problem in schools“.

The school and the teacher are not allowed to comment

According to a report – prepared by the authority itself – there are also “deficiencies in schools’ ability to act when they become aware that harassment may have occurred“. The specific incident is considered an example of this.

Furthermore, it is informed that after the school was threatened with court action, they “have admitted to the discrimination and paid a discrimination compensation to the student“. The amount is 90,000 SEK. Neither the school management nor the teacher are allowed to comment in DO’s press release or decision.