Banned schoolgirl fights to wear Sikh bangle 'like Monty Panesar'

Sarika Watkins-Singh, 14, is fighting for the right to wear a Sikh 'kara' bangle similar to one worn by England spin bowler Monty Panesar.

Lawyers for the girl told the High Court that she was a victim of unlawful discrimination when she was excluded from Aberdare Girls' School in south Wales last November after refusing to remove the simple steel bracelet.

Symbol of faith: Schoolgirl Sarika Watkins-Singh wears the same bangle as England spin bowler Monty Panesar, right

In a case which will have wide implications, a judge is to decide whether the school was justified in banning her from classes while she insisted on wearing the kara.

Mr Justice Silber said he would like to see a kara at some point during the hearing, which is scheduled to last three days.

In the meantime, Sarika's counsel Helen Mountfield referred the judge to a photograph of Panesar wearing the kara as one of the symbols of the Sikh faith.

The Punjabi-Welsh girl, from Cwmbach, near Aberdare, was the only Sikh among 600 girls at Aberdare Girls' School.

Challenge: Sarika arrives at the High Court in London today

The school does not permit jewellery other than wristwatches and plain ear studs.

In February, Sarika enrolled at Mountain Ash Comprehensive School, in mid-Glamorgan, which allows her to wear the kara as she waits for the outcome of her court challenge.

Her mother, Sinita, 38, has said that although Mountain Ash is a good school, her daughter's education suffered as a result of the move and the stress involved in the run-up to her GCSEs.

Last Friday, the family delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street calling for Gordon Brown to intervene in the matter 'to show discrimination is totally unacceptable'.

The petition gained the backing of 150 gurdwaras - the main Sikh religious institutions - and more than 200 Sikh organisations and 70 non-Sikh organisations. More than 100 MPs have also offered support.

Human rights group Liberty, which is supporting Sarika's case, claims Aberdare Girls' School breached race, equality and human rights laws by not allowing Sarika to wear the kara. The case continues.

The Sikh girl's claim follows the award of £4,000 to a Muslim woman who was refused a job at a hairdresser because she wore a headscarf.

Bushra Noah accused Sarah Desrosiers, 32, who owns a salon in King's Cross, of religious discrimination after she was failed to land a job at an interview last May.

A central London employment tribunal panel yesterday dismissed the claim of direct discrimination. But it said offence had been caused to Mrs Noah, 19, who was told Ms Desrosiers's stylists had to wear designer hairstyles. She had been rejected from 20 other salon jobs.

The panel yesterday found Mrs Noah of Acton had been badly upset by the interview and awarded her the damages for 'injury to feelings'.