The Eid celebrations in the UK are not fully recognised by UK schools. Muslims in the UK celebrate Eid twice per year, of which each celebration lasts for three days. Unfortunately, UK schools do not recognise this and only give one day and any further days are classed as unauthorised absences. Even in schools where there is a Muslim majority of pupils, only one day is allowed.

Surprisingly, this year for some Eid fell on a bank holiday. Therefore, schools tried to use pressure tactics to force parents to celebrate their Eid on a bank holiday, even though it was already a holiday for another purpose. Threatening parents that they needed to send their children on the Tuesday to school, otherwise they would receive an unauthorised absence for that day. This meant that the children would receive no days to celebrate Eid, as it fell (for most) on a bank holiday.

With this petition, I am trying to raise awareness and pass on important information to other parents in my situation. Eid is an important celebration and is as important as any other religious celebration. Unfortunately, this is not reflected in the amount of days given to celebrate. The school that my children attend has almost a 100% Muslim population. Yet the still receive 2.5 weeks off at Christmas and only 1 day (or 0 days as explained above, due to Eid falling on a bank holiday) for Eid.

I believe that we should stand up for our rights and emphasise that everyone has a right to celebrate and practice their own religious celebrations and this should be reflected in the correct amount of days being given for that celebration. This is particularly important in schools where there is a majority of Muslim pupils.