Alex Bhathal is a high profile community-activist, human rights advocate and a former Greens Party candidate from Batman, Victoria.
While speaking to SBS radio’s Punjabi Program, Ms Bhathal mentioned that she is in the opinion that the law should be fixed in regards to the exemptions provided to the religious or faith based schools.
The response has come after SBS Punjabi shared the story of six Sikh families who claim that they were forced to abandon the school of their choice due to their religious beliefs.
It can be noted that the turban or patka restriction is based on the rules or school uniform policy that can be imposed based on the exemptions provided to the religious or faith based schools.
Ms Bhathal mentioned that she is shocked to see this kind of discrimination happening in the current day.
“This is the sort of things that we used to have in 1950s when my father first arrived in Australia wearing a turban. It is not what I would hope to be seeing in year 2017. I am quite horrified.”
Ms Bhathal is also in the view that the government should provide some clarity on this issue.
“The human rights and equal opportunity law provides some exemptions for the religious schools.”
“The Greens are in the state parliament trying to get rid of those exemptions because they do allow a murky ground where cases like this can continue. So clearly the law needs to be fixed in this regard.”
Ms Bhathal also responded to the social media comments that suggest that Sikh families should look for other options.
“These schools receive government funding. We live in a multicultural multi-religious country that is a prized value within Australia - the multiculturalism.
“There are thousands of examples of religious schools, which have a welcoming attitude to all faiths.”
“Sikhism is an outward-looking religion. It is compulsory for us to understand and to be aware of other religions and to know their leanings and teachings.”
“So it is perfectly understandable for Sikh families to enrol their children in Christian or other faith schools.”
Ms Bhathal said that it would be nice to resolve this issue by community consultations.
“Those faith schools under Australian law should be opening their doors to all religions.”
“I will be undertaking to contact schools to explain the impact of these actions on the children.”
“The fact is that wearing religious clothes in non-negotiable.”
“It is not something that we take off lightly and put back on. It’s part of our deep identity and our faith. These are clear cases of discrimination.”
“We should take a legal approach, which could remove the exemptions for religious schools in the Equal Opportunity Act in Victoria.”
SBS Punjabi has contacted the office of the Minister for Education, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner for their comments on this issue but has not yet received a response.
Additional Facts
According to a draft published by the Independent Schools Victoria, nearly a third of Victoria’s schools are non-government, and they are attended by more than 36 per cent of all Victorian students.
“Independent schools support the diversity of Australia by educating nearly 129,000 students in Victoria from across the cultural spectrum.”
The proportion of government funding for individual Independent schools varies greatly.
Independent schools on average receive 42 per cent of their funding from governments and 58 per cent from private sources, mainly from parental contributions through fees.
Sources of Independent sector income, 2014
School funding Government vs Non-Government schools Source: By Independent Schools Victoria
