Switzerland: Federal Court Opposes Single-Sex Education

The judgment states that the agreement by which the municipal administration financed the schooling of female students in this private school of Catholic inspiration is unconstitutional, because it represents a violation of the principle of religious neutrality and discrimination based on sex.

The Swisscath website notes that the chamber responsible for this judgment at the Federal Court is dominated by the left and the greens. It recalls that such a judgment is not the first of its kind, referring back to the judgment of September 26, 1990 against the Ticino municipality of Cadro. At the time, a teacher had asked to remove a crucifix from a public school classroom in the canton of Ticino.

The Federal Court had finally ruled in favor of the teacher. But the lawyers had not failed to point out that it was not competent in the matter, according to the case law of the time. The same site recalls that in a judgment of March 18, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights decided that the affixing of crucifixes was not contrary to freedom of conscience and belief.

The same court had declared that decisions in the field of education and teaching fall within the competence of the contracting states and that they can therefore decide for themselves whether or not they wish to install crucifixes in the classrooms of public schools. In Switzerland, education is the direct responsibility of the cantons, which are real states.

The Islamic Veil Case

The site also recalls the Federal Court’s ruling of December 11, 2015, involving a Muslim girl who, during the 2013/14 school year, had attended a school in St. Margrethen wearing a hijab. The school principal applied the school’s rules prohibiting the wearing of a head covering during lessons.

The parents brought the case before the Federal Court. The school management concluded that the members of this family placed Sharia law above the Swiss legal order. The Federal Court declared that the ban on the headscarf in public school education was illegal.

The St. Katharina School in Wil

This school was born out of the storms of the French Revolution. The convent that controlled it was to be abolished, but the prioress founded the girls’ school in Wil in 1808, which quickly acquired a good reputation. In 1845, the convent opened a secondary school for girls, which has always adapted to the demands of the time and still meets a real need in the region today.

The school is open to students of all faiths and religions, and is free for girls in Wil. It has about 150 students. Demand regularly exceeds the school's capacity. Until now, in accordance with the contract, the city of Wil paid the annual tuition fees of 20,000 francs for each student residing in the city.

A Judgment Polluted by Wokeness

The press release from the Federal Court states that the “Kathi Wil” is a “public school.” This is false, because it is a private Catholic school, financially supported by public funds. In addition, it complies with the state school curriculum. However, the cantons can emphasize different aspects within the framework set by federal law.

Thus, the canton of St. Gallen deliberately orients the public school towards Christian values. Art. 3, para. 1 of its law on public schools states: "The public school supports parents in the education of the child so that he becomes a human being capable of asserting his life, of demonstrating competence and of living in community. It is run according to Christian principles.”

Swisscath also points out that it was left-wing judges and the greens who tipped the balance. The left and the greens deny the right to the existence of any type of school that promotes the education of girls according to Christian principles.

Basically, this is a construction inherent in woke ideology, according to which concepts such as "woman" and "man", "feminine" and "masculine" are simple social attributes conditioned by culture. It is therefore in some way almost inevitable that a girls' school described as "successful and Catholic" becomes the enemy par excellence, Swisscath emphasizes.

The ruling inadmissibly interferes with the cantons’ powers and undermines the federal structure, which is an indispensable element of the Swiss state system. Reza Rafi, originally from Iran and editor-in-chief of SonntagsBlick, rightly spoke of a “self-dismantling” of the West when referring to this ruling.

The Federal Court’s decision places the St. Katharina School in a critical situation, forcing it to rethink its funding in order to continue its educational work. If no alternative solution is found, the historic institution risks disappearing after more than two centuries of existence.