The author advocates adopting a contextual
approach to assessing the legality under
International law of restrictions on
wearing Muslim headscarves and veils in
public educational institutions. Taking a
secularist approach to women's human
rights, the author argues that the
European Court of Human Rights ruled
correctly in Leyla Sahin v Turkey (2004)
when it upheld Istanbul University's ban
on headscarves. Bennoune summarizes the
background and reasoning in Sahin, and
responds to NGO criticisms of the
decision. Considering the conflict between