Hijab-wearing Canadian refuses to show her ears, so can't write exam

Representation pic

Toronto: A Hijab-clad Muslim student in Canada has been prevented from taking an exam after she refused to show her ears to a male teacher who wanted to check if she was wearing headphones. The young woman was asked by her male biology teacher to pull back part of her Islamic headscarf so he could see whether she was wearing headphones, said Line Legare, spokeswoman of Montreal's College de Maisonneuve.

"She didn't want to show him her ears," Legare said, adding that the student offered her teacher the possibility of touching her through the hijab to make sure she was not trying to cheat. "That made the teacher uncomfortable," Legare was quoted as saying.

The junior college teacher then told the student that she could not take the exam that day.

Legare said the teacher and the student are negotiating another date for her to sit the exam.