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Right to Turban(RTT)

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RIGHT TO TURBAN FUND: AWARENESS AND FUNDRAISING ALERT

Since September 11, the world has been gripped by fear such that many minority communities, including the Sikh community, have suffered a backlash through mis-information and ignorance. The first reprisal killing after Sept 11 was of a Turban wearing Sikh in Arizona, who was mistaken as belonging to the group which perpetrated the 9/11 incident. Sikhs due to their unique appearance have since been a target of hate and bias crime and discrimination. Every week, UNITED SIKHS receives reports from Sikh adults and children who are victims of race/biased/hate crimes and from those being denied their rights to practice their religion. A Sikh's right to wear his articles of faith has been challenged in schools, the workplace, Prisons and other public places. Sikhs suffer increased harassment at airports because they wear the Turban. UNITED SIKHS provides advice, counsel and legal representation to those whose legal rights are being denied by errant and mis-informed authorities and the public. A critical aspect of UNITED SIKHS' advocacy work is to create an awareness of the issues amongst authorities and the public through talks, seminars and multifaith events.

Today the remit of the RTT campaign covers the Right To Turban issue in any country where Sikhs are denied their right to wear their Turban. If you, or anyone you know, has been denied the right to wear his/her turban, please do not hesitate to contact a UNITED SIKHS office nearest to you.

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MEDIA FOCUS

Sikhs protest against Turban ban

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Useful Links to the UNITED SIKHS RTT campaign:

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To Read All the RTT Press Releases click here

To Read about French Sikh History click here

Related Campaign

Right to Turban Euro Campaign

UNITED SIKHS in the News

World media coverage links to Sikhs challenging French law on turbans


European Media	Panjabi Media

Parliamentarian to take up turban issue with EU
April 20, 2008
Promising support to the Sikh Community , European Union Parliamentarian Godfrey Bloom said he would raise the turban issue....

We will look at turban ban: Sarkozy
Jan 25, 2008 NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani on Friday raised the issue of ban on Sikh turbans in French government schools with President Nicolas Sarkozy...

VIEW: It is an internal matter of France
Sikh organisations want Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to urge French President Nicolas Sarkozy to relax the ban on turbans in government-run schools in France...

Sikhs want Indian PM to press Sarkozy to lift ban on turban
Jan 25, 2008 NEW DELHI: Indian Sikh organisations on Friday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up the issue of a ban on wearing turbans in French state schools with visiting French President...

PM raises turban issue with Sarkozy
Jan 25 , 2008 - Sikh boys aren't allowed to wear turbans in school as a policy in France. The issue was raised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with France President Nicholas Sarkozy during their meeting...

Turban talks held
Jan 25 , 2008 - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today took up with French President Nicolas Sarkozy the issue of ban on turban in France....

Sikhs urge Sarkozy to lift turban ban
Jan 25 , 2008 - French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who is visiting India at the head of a large trade delegation, is coming under pressure to exclude the Sikh turban from the ban...

Sikh community asks PM to take up ban on turban with Sarkozy
Jan 25 , 2008 - As French President Nicolas Sarkozy began a two-day visit to India, the Sikh community on Friday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up with him the issue of ban on turbans...

Sikhs want Manmohan to take up turban issue with Sarkozy
Jan 25 , 2008 - Sikh organisations and individuals have urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up the ban on Sikh turbans in government-run schools in France...

Turban, a matter of pride and honour
Jan 23 , 2008 - PRIDE and honour make a potent potion and the turban evokes these feelings in those Sikhs who wear a turban. People have been wearing turbans since time immemorial ...

Sikhs hold peace march to protest against French turban ban
Jan 19 , 2008 - Sikhs from across the world will be joining in moral and practical support of a peace march in New Delhi, India, today to protest against a French secularity law that bans the wearing of sacred turbans in schools...

Unabated discrimination against Sikhs - Call for campaigns to
nurture diversity in the EU
Sept 15 , 2007 - What is the fault of three Sikh boys, Jasvir Singh, Bikramjit Singh and Ranjit Singh, aged between 15 and 18 years, who have been unable to attend school ...

Turban Controversy - No change in UK laws

August 26 , 2007 - The department of transport, UK, has confirmed that there was no change in the existing procedures for screening turban-wearing Sikhs at its airports.

SIKHS TO APPEAL AGAINST FRENCH GOVT'S BAN ON TURBAN

June 9 , 2007

A forum of Sikhs is planning to challenge French Government's restrictions on wearing turbans at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on Monday..

News Archive…

UNITED SIKHS Bulletins

Sikh Appeals Verdict in Helmet Dispute On March 6th, Ontario Court Judge James Blacklock issued an opinion denying Baljinder Singh Badesha the right to wear his turban unhindered while riding a motorcycle. Badesha, a devout Sikh whose practice does not allow his turban to be covered, began combating the traffic citation he received for not wearing ...
Washington State Issues Revised Guidelines Allowing Turbans March 13, 2008 Seattle, WA, USA: In a victory for the Sikh community of Washington State, the Department of Licensing issued revised guidelines to its employees regarding religious headgear, late last month. UNITED SIKHS and the Sikh community applaud Governor Christine Gregoire's Office and the Department of Licensing...
Sikhs Seek Assurance from Indian PM that he would Raise Turban Issue with French President New Delhi, 25th January 2008 –UNITED SIKHS, a United Nations affiliated international advocacy NGO and other Sikh organizations request the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to publicly state if he will discuss the Sikh Turban issue...
Indian PM Must Convince French President to Reverse the Sikh Turban Ban in France January 24, 2008 - New Delhi : UNITED SIKHS, a United Nations affiliated international advocacy NGO, calls on Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to convince President Nicholas Sarkozy, during the latter's visit to India this week, to reverse the Sikh Turban ban in France...
Thousands of Sikhs March in Delhi for the Right to Wear the Turban in France January 20, 2008 Over five thousand Sikhs including 2000 students marched in New Delhi last night as show of support for French Sikhs since France banned the Turban in public schools and on ID documents. The march....

Report your Dastaar (turban) screening experience encountered at Airports January 11, 2008 As we reported last year, the (Transportation Security Administration) TSA has implemented changes in how they screen Sikhs and their turbans in US airports....

French Highest Court Upholds Turban Ban in Schools: Dec 13, 2007; Paris, France - Last week the Conseil Detat, France's highest court, ruled that the ban against the turban in schools was legal because there was a greater interest to be served in preserving secularity than a religious belief...

Sikhs to take French turban ban to the UN: June 28, 2007; United Nations, New York - UNITED SIKHS lawyers will take to the UN Human Rights Committee next month the first cases challenging the French law banning the wearing of the turban on..

SIKHS TAKE FRENCH TURBAN BAN TO EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS COURT

June 11, 2007; Sikhs take French turban ban to European human rights court European Parliament, Brussels - UNITED SIKHS' lawyers announced that they filed today a legal challenge to the French law banning the wearing of the turban on ID document photos. The case, before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ...

French Turban Campaign Continues in Earnest as More Sikh Students Face Expulsion: November 18, 2006; Jasmeet Singh, one of four French-Sikh schoolboys excluded from school in September for refusing to remove their Turbans, will face a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday 21st November.
Sikhs Lobby MEPs Against Turban Ban After Refusing to Remove Kirpan to Enter EU Parliament: June 02, 2006; Sikhs remained in high spirits as they continued to lobby their Members of European Parliament (MEPs) after they were prevented from entering the European parliament for refusing to remove their Kirpan.

Bulletin Archive…

Sikh Regiment : UN Peacekeepers

AFP Photo, 2006	Reuters Photo, 2007
Former U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan meets sikh members of the UN peacekeeping force.	U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (L) arrives at UNIFIL hqts. in lebanon — Reuters

Singh Is King: Indian UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon

Join the Right to Turban Team

Please join the Right to Turban team. We need lawyers or law students, writers, multimedia professionals and general volunteers. Training and support will be provided. Please click here to join the UNITED SIKHS team.