GETTY A Muslim woman teacher has been banned from wearing a burka in the classroom

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The unidentified woman had complained that she was being discriminated against by a ban on teachers wearing Muslim headscarves. But the court in the capital Berlin ruled that although she had a right to religious freedom, more important was the neutrality law, which insists that civil servants in certain positions need to dress in a way that does not advertise their political opinions or religious standpoint.

Announcing his decision, Judge Andreas Dittert said: "The application by the teacher has been rejected. In our opinion the neutrality law means that all religions need to be treated the same. We are therefore convinced also that this ruling is constitutionally relevant."

In our opinion the neutrality law means that all religions need to be treated the same Judge Andreas Dittert

The lawyer for the woman, Maryam Yekani, said they planned to take the appeal to the Constitutional Court, pointing out that in a similar case in Karlsruhe in 2015 a judge had lifted the ban on the veil for a teacher in North Rhine-Westphalia. If the constitutional court rejects the application, they plan to take it to the European Court of human rights.

GETTY The court defended the ban with the neutrality law saying staff must not advertise their religion

The Berlin court however was not interested in the comparison with the 2015 case, saying that there were differences in the new application. The latest ruling has been criticised by Muslim associations, who said there was now state-promoted discrimination in operation in Germany.

GETTY Muslim groups have said there is now state-promoted discrimination in operation in Germany

GETTY The unidentified woman is prepared to take the case to the European Court of human rights