A German court on Tuesday upheld a ban on female teachers wearing headscarves in schools in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is home to almost a third of the country's 3.5 million Muslims. Seven of Germany's 16 states have banned teachers from wearing Islamic headscarves ? a policy Muslim groups say discriminates against them. A court in the northwestern city of Duesseldorf ruled that a 52-year-old teacher, who was effectively trying to get the ban lifted, was not allowed to wear her headscarf in school. Wearing the garment was a religious statement and therefore against state rules, the court said in a statement. Maryam Brigitte Weiss, a state schoolteacher since 1980, converted to Islam at the start of the 1990s and decided to start wearing a headscarf in 2006. To show willingness for compromise, she wears her scarf in a so-called "Grace Kelly" style, tied in a loose knot at the base of the neck. She argued it was not the traditional Islamic style and said the state's laws contravened her right to religious freedom. She plans to launch an appeal. "This is a witch hunt," Weiss, a member of the board of the Central Council of Muslims, told Reuters by telephone.