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A Muslim women’s campaigner has backed a Catholic school's decision to ban a girl of four from wearing the hijab in class.

Shaista Gohir, of the Muslim Women’s Network, said making young children wear the headscarf was as bad as kids having spray tans and pole dancing lessons.

And she insisted it was NOT a requirement of the faith for young girls of that age.

Ms Gohir said the hijab was designed to discourage sexual advances from men and enforcing it on young children could “sexualise” them.

“We challenge parents who spray tan or give pole dancing classes to seven-year-olds, so we should be challenging Muslim parents who make young children wear the hijab,” she said.

“I’ve seen girls of two wearing them. "

The row flared when it emerged St Clare's School in Robert Road, Handsworth, told the girl's parents she should not wear the hijab to school.

It said it had a strict uniform policy and asked her family to respect it.

Ms Gohir said the school was correct to enforce the policy - and young girls were not required to wear the hijab.

“While schools have to be inclusive, they haven’t done anything wrong because there is no Islamic requirement for a four-year-old to wear a headscarf,” she said.

“What is the need to put a headscarf on a four-year-old?

"Because it is not a part of faith.

(Image: Google)

“I would not like to see it normalised for four and five-year-olds to be wearing headscarfs.

“In the current climate there is so much negativity towards Islam.

"By saying it is part of faith, when it isn’t – or normalising it – is not a good thing.”

Ms Gohir said the hijab was not suggested until girls reached puberty.

She said: “But, as it is not a matter of faith, the school is as entitled to tell children not to wear it as they are to stop a child wearing trainers or even a Superman costume."

“Let them be children, they’ve got their whole life to wear a headscarf if they want to.”

The row erupted after Birmingham City Council’s Labour cabinet member for equalities, Waseem Zaffar, announced on Facebook that he was challenging the school’s ban.

Faith schools are free to set their own uniform policy.

Coun Zaffar (Lozells and East Handsworth) wrote on Facebook that he had met with the headteacher and told her the ban on the scarf was against the equalities act.

He added: “I’m insisting this matter is addressed asap with a change of policy.”