BBC Radio 4's Law in Action was broadcast on Friday, 18 June, 2004 at 1600 BST.

This week the High Court decided that 15 year old Shabina Begum should not have the right to wear a full length Islamic gown, known as a jilbab, to school. Shabina believes that wearing the dress is a religious obligation. However, her school claims that one of its uniform options, a headscarf worn with a shalwar kameez, fully satisfies the Islamic dress requirements. Innes Bowen looks at what Islamic law says about women's dress and why Britain's new laws on religious discrimination do not necessarily protect the right to wear it.