A conflict has erupted at an educational institution in Logroño, one that has extended far beyond the school’s walls. Seventeen-year-old Eman Akram, a first-year student of the International Baccalaureate program at IES Sagasta, refused to accept the internal regulations prohibiting students from attending classes with their heads covered—even if it is for religious reasons.
The student gathered 11,000 signatures in support of her right to wear the hijab and submitted them to the La Rioja Department of Education. The signatures were collected via an online platform, and now their impressive number has become a strong argument in the dispute with the school administration. However, regional authorities are in no rush to compromise: the La Rioja government has officially supported the ban, and the head of the educational department, Alberto Galiana, confirmed this at a parliamentary session.
The story began back in September last year, when Eman was temporarily suspended for coming to school in a hijab. The school administration warned her that if she continued to insist on her position, she could be expelled permanently. This announcement sparked outrage among students and parents—spontaneous protests broke out at the school gates. To avoid further sanctions, the student is now forced to attend classes with her head uncovered.
Attempts to reach an agreement with the school administration, regional authorities, and even the international organization overseeing the baccalaureate program have yielded no result. Eman is convinced that her rights are being violated: in her view, the Spanish Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and self-expression, and such bans are unfounded. She notes that in other schools she has never encountered such restrictions before and considers the situation humiliating.
The young woman’s family is originally from Pakistan, though she herself was born and raised in Spain. Eman emphasizes that she wears the hijab by her own choice, not under pressure. She has not yet decided whether to take further steps, as she does not want the conflict to affect her studies—she hopes to become a lawyer in the future.
IES Sagasta is the only school in La Rioja offering the international baccalaureate program, and one of the few that bans religious head coverings. The student believes that regional authorities should develop uniform rules for all educational institutions to avoid situations where the hijab is permitted in some schools but not in others.
