Bullied for wearing a turban

Sunday September 6, 2009, Paris

What role do religious symbols play in a secular society? Well, France believes none and banned turbans, burkhas, headscarves and the like.
However, after the outrage that followed the ban many French schools are now allowing Sikh children to wear some covering on their heads. But does that really solve the problem?
Vikaranjit Singh is a French born Sikh, but he has recently cut his hair because he couldn't take the pressure of constantly being singled out for his appearance. Now when he goes to meet his Sikh friends or family, he's embarrassed. So he wears a hood; some others try to resist.
"They asked me to take my turban off but I said I won't. So they said go and see the principal. They don't understand what Sikhism is, what the Sikh religion is," one of the residents Sameet Singh said.
Others have been luckier. Despite the ban they are now being allowed by to wear roomals as long as they fit tightly and are black. But most Sikh children say they are constantly bullied by their schoolmates.
"Right from the morning onwards they start making fun of us and kicking us. Everyday they ask us questions. We've explained to them ten thousand times. They do it on purpose so that we just get fed up and cut our hair off," said a Sikh boy.
France-born Sikh children find themselves in a country where a majority feels that being strictly religious is an aberration in itself. Sikh parents, on the other hand, try to fiercely guard their religious identity.
The French fought hard for the separation of the state and the church. For them this may be freedom of thought, but for the Sikh community it's simply religious intolerance.