TAGESANZEIGER, Zurich.
Muslim parents, who did not send their daughters to swimming lessons, have to pay a fine of 1400 Swiss Francs.
According to the Basel court swimming lessons are in the public interest.
Parents who refuse participation of their children in the mandatory swimming lessons at school have been rightly fined. The administrative court of the city of Basel has refused the appeal of a Muslim couple against the fines. The couple had not permitted their girls, then aged seven and nine years, to attend swimming lessons. The administrative court does not see in the fines anything against religious freedom, as informed on Friday.
The court bases its decision on the Federal Supreme Court. The obligatory duty to send children to school means that the parents are obliged to send the children to school and that the children have a right of a school education.
Swimming as a public interest.
Physical education and swimming, which in Basel at the primary school level, therefore before the age of puberty, takes places in mixed sex schools. Therefore exists ‘a large public interest that all children, including small girls of Muslim faith, take part in the swimming lessons’.
Categories: Switzerland
A Christian priest has agreed to pay the fines of all Muslim parents fined in such a way. This is the positive side.
The negative side is that 95% of comments in the Swiss newspapers are strongly in favor of such fines, stating that any one not 100% willing to follow Swiss laws should not decide to reside in Switzerland.
I belive that if one lives in Rome then one should do as the romans do. If there is such a law that forces young girls to learn swimming then either they comply as in the Holy Quran, Allah says that we should obey those who are in authority or find a compromise such as seeking special timings for girls only or wearing more decent swimming suits for the swimming lessons ; anyway swimming is no doubt good for health & may be very useful.