A Muslim teaching assistant who was suspended for refusing to remove her veil during lessons has been awarded £1,100 for "injury to her feelings".

Aishah Azmi, 24, lost her claims that she was discriminated against because of her religious beliefs and that she had suffered harassment.

But an employment tribunal ruled that she had been victimised through the environment created as a result of her stance.

Mrs Azmi was suspended when she insisted on retaining her niqab while working at Headfield Church of England School, in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

The school considered face-to-face communication essential for the work of a bilingual support worker.

Mrs Azmi said the case made her "fearful of the consequences for Muslim women in this country who want to work".

She is considering an appeal and criticised Tony Blair and Cabinet ministers for becoming involved in the issue when it was first publicised last week.

The tribunal panel stressed that all its conclusions were reached on Oct 6 and its judgment was not affected by politicians' comments.

Shahid Malik, the Labour MP for Dewsbury, described the findings as "quite clearly a victory for common sense".

Problems arose three weeks after Mrs Azmi started her job in September last year when a male teacher, with whom she was asked to work, objected to her veil.

She was asked to remove it the following week but declined and again refused when she returned several months later from sick leave.

The school consulted Kirklees education authority and it was decided she should not wear the veil in school hours. She was suspended on full pay in February.

Mrs Azmi, from Dewsbury, had appeared without her veil at her interview for the job as an ethnic minority achievement curriculum support assistant.

She said she was "caught unawares" because she thought a woman would assess her and was willing to remove her veil in front of children providing male colleagues were not present.

After her suspension for failing to comply with management instruction, she brought a test case under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2004. She said: "It is clear that discrimination has taken place and I am disappointed the tribunal has not been able to uphold that part of my claim.

"I am pleased the tribunal recognised the victimising way in which the school and local education authority have handled this matter and the distress that has caused me."

The panel awarded her £1,000 for injured feelings with an extra 10 per cent because statutory grievance procedures had not been complied with. It found she had not been directly or indirectly discriminated against on religious grounds or treated detrimentally because she was bringing a claim. But it did find she had been subjected to a course of conduct which created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for her.

Asked whether she would ever take off her veil if males were present, she replied: "No. I teach perfectly well with my veil on. Just give it a chance — that's what I call integration."

Kirklees council said: "The education of the children is of paramount importance. . . the tribunal has agreed that the action taken was correct."

The lawyer for a Muslim teaching assistant suspended for refusing to remove her veil said on Friday her case had opened an untested "new area of law" in terms of religious discrimination.

Nick Whittingham told BBC radio he and his client, 24-year-old Aishah Azmi, planned to appeal to a "higher court".

They would particularly study whether it should be treated as direct or indirect discrimination.

On Thursday, an employment tribunal rejected Azmi's claim against Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire of direct and indirect discrimination and of harassment.

But Azmi was awarded 1,100 pounds for victimisation and because the council failed to follow grievance procedures correctly.

"The tribunal has decided as a matter of fact that our client holds a religious belief which obliges her to wear the veil in the presence of an adult male," said Whittingham.

"My client is saying she can do her job perfectly well even if she is wearing a veil," he added.

Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury had said Azmi should remove the veil in order to communicate. When she refused, they suspended her.

Azmi's case attracted nation-wide interest after former foreign minister Jack Straw said Muslim women who wore full veils made community relations difficult.