# "Quebec Identity" vs. the Headscarf: Student Expelled for Wearing Hijab September 26, 2003 Source: The Globe and Mail On September 26, 2003 *The Globe and Mail* reported on the controversy surrounding the *hijab*, or Muslim headscarf, in Quebec: "The current hijab controversy involves Irene Waseem, 16, who was recently expelled from College Charlemagne, a private Catholic girls' school, for wearing the hijab on her first day back at the school she had attended since 1999. The Quebec Human Rights Commission (QHRC) has ruled that a private religious institution cannot violate rights, such as freedom of religion, protected under the province's human-rights charter. Such incidents, rare in the rest of Canada, occasionally occur in Quebec because of its secularism, its links to France -- and its nationalism. How inclusive is Quebec identity? Can it incorporate practices that are not *pur laine*? Last year, CBC news correspondent Celine Gallipeau unwittingly set off a firestorm in the province for wearing a loose-fitting head scarf while reporting from Afghanistan." The article goes on to describe the various *hijab* incidents over the past several years. See also:- [ Civil Liberties/Civil Rights ](/news-stories/civil-libertiescivil-rights) - [ Headscarf Controversies ](/news-stories/headscarf-controversies) - [ Islam ](/religions/islam) - [ International ](/tags/international) - [ Women ](/tags/women) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)