Omar Hallak, the principal at the Al-Taqwa College in Australia, banned girls from running in school, alleging that the activity could cause them to lose their virginity. The regulators have launched an investigation into the accusations.
“The principal holds beliefs that if females run excessively, they may ‘lose their virginity,'” wrote a former teacher. “The principal believes that there is scientific evidence to indicate that if girls injure themselves, such as break their leg while playing soccer, it could render them infertile.”
The teacher claimed Hallak forced the female cross country team to cancel appearances in district events in 2013 and 2014. Yet, the same team trained at another school that encouraged female students “to take part in any sporting event.”
“I look back on my time at Al-Taqwa with frustration and anger, which is how I felt most of the time while I was working there,” continued the teacher. “I did my best to stay committed to the students however in the end, I was unable to provide the same opportunities to students that I was given when I was at primary school, more than 20 years ago.”
The students wrote Hallak a note about their disappointment in the decision. Parents were unhappy with Hallak as well. Another teacher confirmed the principal cancelled the events.
“I was told the girls weren’t allowed to participate,” claimed the teacher. “The reason was they might over-exert themselves and lose their virginity or be rendered infertile.”
This is not the first controversy concerning Hallak. In March, he told his “students not to join Islamic State because it is a plot by Western countries.” He did not tell them not to join because they are a radical Islamic group responsible for genocide and war crimes.
“They are trained and equipped by them: [the] evidence is all the shiny new equipment,” he maintained. “We don’t believe Muslims are creating IS.”
The speech forced Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne to confront Hallak, especially since the principal “also told students that Israel did not exist and Jews were horrible people.” A teacher told Pyne that Hallak berated her for drawing stars on the board for good work.
“He said ‘that is a Jew symbol. If you do it again I will kick you out,’” she said.
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