Ouch enterprises who work in EU member states. has the right to ban it scarf or other head covering, if it is of a universal nature and does not cause discrimination against specific workers. This decision was posted yesterday. Court of Justice of the European Uniontrying to solve a problem that has been divisive for years.

The decision concerns the case of a young Muslim woman who, for six weeks, tried to work as an intern in a Belgian company. When applying, she was told that she was not allowed to wear the hijab during working hours at the workplace. The company, explaining the ban, referred to its policy of neutrality, according to which any type of headgear is prohibited, whether it be a headscarf, cap or cap. The young woman appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union with a request to restore justice. The court’s ruling states that a ban is legal if it is universal and not a means of discrimination. “The internal regulation prohibiting the display of religious, philosophical or other symbols is not a discriminatory strategy, as it applies to all employees everywhere, without any differentiation,” the decision says.

Last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that companies operating in the EU have the right to prohibit the use of the headscarf by female employees in certain circumstances, especially if they consider it necessary to create an image of neutrality for their customers. In Germany, the issue of wearing the hijab in the workplace has been controversial for years, especially when it comes to public school teachers and judges. France, home to the EU’s largest Muslim community, has banned Muslim headscarves in schools since 2004, along with any other religious symbol.

Similar concerns are being voiced in India, however, where the Supreme Court yesterday failed to decide whether Muslim schoolgirls and female students are allowed to wear the hijab (a headscarf that covers their hair and neck) in schools. The problem has been going on for more than a decade, causing great social polarization. It all started when a government college in the southern state of Karnataka banned six young Muslim students from wearing hijabs in class. Social unrest sparked by the reaction of the girls forced local authorities to close schools and colleges for several days. The local high court ruled that the hijab is not obligatory according to the Quran and that anyone who does not wear it is not a sinner, holding the college’s decision legal.