Me and my sister have been practicing niqab for years. It is a part of our identity. Loreto College and many other colleges are seeking to ban niqabs and all forms of face coverings. We wear our niqab as a medical mask in school yet we are still being harassed over the claim of us being a ‘security threat’ when there have been no such incidents. Again and again, we have tried to offer solutions and compromise but the college is ignorant to all of our resolutions. Even with exams incoming, we have been threatened with exclusion for expressing our religion and identity. For a college that claims to be diverse, we feel wronged. Please help us oppose this ban before we are silenced.

Other colleges have already excluded young women my age because of wearing their niqab. If we gain attention for this petition, we can help make religious expression more than just a faulty claim made by education organisations and end institutionalised discrimination.