A Christian counsellor who was sacked from a Catholic girls’ school has appeared on GB News to discuss how her social media posts were “censored” before her dismissal.
Gozen Soydag, who is currently suing St Annes Catholic High School for Girls in Enfield, told GB News that teachers had objected to her traditional views on marriage and family values.
The 37-year-old claims the school ordered her to remove certain posts and labelled her teachings as “18th century” views on womanhood.
At the centre of the controversy was a video Soydag had shared featuring a woman in Muslim attire discussing submission to her husband.
Soydag said she was instructed to delete posts
GB NEWS
In the video, which was played at an employment tribunal, the woman stated: “My husband is my boss. My husband is number one. If my husband tells me ‘Hey sit down’ I will sit down.”
The school’s assistant headteacher reportedly told Soydag that if a man had made such statements, they would be considered “misogynistic” and compared the content to Andrew Tate.
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Speaking to GB News, Soydag said: “They asked me to remove a post. I didn’t quite understand why – I removed it.”
“The issue became ‘wife in the waiting’ specifically. They called it an ’18th century teaching’ on womanhood,” she added.
She revealed that a father had complained about sending his children to a school for “21st century teachings.”
Soydag claimed there were “anonymous complaints” which led to the censoring of her social media posts, though she maintained there were no “axes to grind.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg spoke to Soydag on GB News
GB NEWS
Soydag had worked as a pastoral manager for Year 10 students at St Anne’s, where she earned £250 per day.
She was summoned to a meeting with senior staff in February 2023 about her social media presence, which included multiple Instagram accounts with over 30,000 followers.
After being given 24 hours to make her accounts invisible on Google, she was dismissed on her birthday and ordered to leave the premises without pay.
“I still do not know what I did wrong to warrant being dismissed,” she said.
Soydag is now pursuing legal action against the school for wrongful dismissal, harassment, discrimination and breaches of her human rights based on her Christian beliefs.
The case is being heard at Watford Employment Tribunal, where she is represented by Michael Phillips of Christian Concern.
Her legal team argues that her social media presence is “the equivalent of a street preacher” and that the school unlawfully sought to curtail her rights.
The school denies the claims, with the hearing ongoing.
