Parents hound out the Muslim school secretary they thought was a man
'Angry parents hounded a woman out of her job at a Muslim girls school because they believed she was a man.
Shifa Patel, a 28-year-old secretary, was accused of hiding her masculinity beneath a traditional headscarf and robes.
The hate campaign started when photographs of a short-haired Miss Patel wearing a shirt and trousers were spotted on Facebook. They were copied and emailed to dozens of concerned parents as ‘proof’ that Miss Patel was a man.
In a bid to defuse the rumours, she underwent a humiliating medical examination to prove that she was in fact a woman. But parents refused to believe the results and the headteacher resorted to writing to all parents assuring them the secretary wasn’t a man. Miss Patel was finally forced to quit after a mob of parents gathered at the Al-Islah Muslim Girls School in Blackburn and demanded governors sack her immediately. Police were called to the school last Monday and had to disperse the more than a dozen parents at the gates.
Last night a distraught Miss Patel said: 'I have irrefutable medical evidence that I’m a woman. The people who have done this to have hurt me so badly. I will never forgive those who did this to me and spread these lies.
Miss Patel said she wore a hijab, a headscarf which shows the face, and a jhaba, a full-length robe, while working at the school.
Last night, Fatima Patel quit as the school’s acting headmistress in protest at the secretary’s treatment. She said: 'When some parents approached me I told them I will take the Koran in my hand and swear to tell the truth. But they were more concerned about obtaining a GP’s certificate for Shifa. What does that say about some people?
‘Some of the parents have been very supportive. It is very disconcerting that this has happened during children’s exam time. This incident has affected me and Shifa and it will take a lot to get her confidence back. We must add that some parents have come and supported us.’’
Just a speculation, what if she really IS a man and underwent sex assignment surgery? i'm just saying.
She took a medical exam to prove she wasn't a man.
Poor woman, I bet her confidence has been ripped to shreds :(
Headmistress should have told the parents their kids would be kicked out if they kept on with the harassment imo. They basically bullied her out of her job.
