The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Hijab

  • Muslim women allege harassment, discrimination over hijab use

    Some Muslim women under the aegis of Hijab Rights Advocacy Initiative, yesterday deplored what they called the frequent harassment of those of them who use hijab, a veil for covering the head and part of the face.

    At a briefing in Alausa, Ikeja, to mark the World Hijab Day (WHD), the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Al-Muminaat, The Criterion, Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) and Guild of Muslim Professionals (GMP), noted that some government institutions and private agencies were involved in the discriminatory act, which they described as an infringement on their rights.

    WHD is a yearly event celebrated every February 1 in over 140 countries worldwide. Its purpose is to raise awareness about modest Muslim dress and to encourage non-Muslim women to wear and experience the hijab for a day.

    The groups’ Coordinator, Hajia Mutiat Orolu-Balogun, said some women in hijab were denied jobs and other opportunities despite being qualified.

    Women in hijab, she claimed, were also forced to expose their ears and their heads before writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) or getting Bank Verification Number (BVN).

    Mrs Orolu-Balogun, a lawyer, said: “Imagine being asked to take off your shirt or your trousers because you wanted to get your driver’s licence, or being told you would not be able to vote in the next elections because you wouldn’t bare your shoulders or show your cleavage in the picture on your voter’s, card, or that you wouldn’t have access to the funds in your bank account because you refused to show your bare back in order to register for your BVN. These, and worse, are what a Muslim woman who wears the hijab feels when she is asked to take off her hijab or expose her ears before she could be allowed her constitutional rights!”

    She described hijab as a religious duty and an obligation on every Muslim woman in the observance of her faith, saying it is not the culture of Arabs or a fashion accessory that one may discard at will.

    “The right to believe in and practise one’s chosen faith is an inalienable right of every human being, as entrenched in the constitution,” she added.

    She relived what some hijab-wearing women went through in the past: “In October 2016, a Muslim woman applied for a Radiographer job at Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Oyingbo, Lagos Mainland, a government hospital and was shortlisted for an interview.

    “On the day of the interview she was told to her face; ‘why are you dressed like this? I cannot Interview you.’ by the then Chief Medical Director, who happened to head the interview panel. She waited for a while and even tried to plead, while other candidates were given the opportunity to be interviewed for the job. The security man was then called to escort her out of the premises!

    “Dear fellow Nigerians, this is a hospital owned by the government! And this is a citizen of Nigeria!”

    MSSN Lagos State Area Unit President Hajia Hafsah Badru urged the media to be objective, fair and accurate in reporting cases related to hijab use.

    According to her, asking a Muslim woman to remove her hijab is a form of violence against women, and such should have no place in a progressive society like Nigeria.

    “One thing we all seem to agree on is that violence against women is wrong in all its forms, whether it is physical, emotional or psychological.  However, covering one’s head doesn’t mean that person should be looked down upon or be underestimated. Women in hijab deserve to enjoy their constitutional rights,” Hajia Badru said.

  • Making a case for hijab

    A Muslim lady, Firdaus Amasa, who graduated from the University of Ilorin and the Nigerian Law School, Abuja Campus, was barred entry into the hall for the call to the Bar ceremony because she refused to pull off her Hijab as directed.

    The use of Hijab has over the years been a highly controversial topic in many parts of the world. Occasionally, while some Muslim females are prohibited from using it, some are molested, harassed or discriminated against because they insist on using it.

    It is, however, highly deplorable, saddening and unbelievable that even the custodians of the law who profess justice, equality and equity would also partake in such wrongful and unjustifiable act.

    The word Hijab is derived from an Arabic word called ‘hajaba’, meaning to cover. Using the Hijab is a Quranic injunction which every Muslim female must adhere to. It is generally referred to as the practice of wearing modest clothing as ordained by Almighty Allah in Q24 v 31 and Q33 v 59.It is not a specific wear for worship only but also an Islamic mode of dressing. A Muslim female wears Hijab every day of her life when she is seen in the public. It is in Islam considered a compulsory part of her dressing and is as important as other parts of her wears. Thus asking a wearer of Hijab to pull it off is tantamount to asking her to go naked!

    Moreover, how just and humane is it to deprive her of the Hijab which she has cherished and worn in obedience to the injunctions of her Lord? How fair is it to deny her of opportunities she ordinarily deserves just because she insists on using the Hijab? How many of those who have harassed hijabite sisters dared to do same to people who dress half-naked and post pictures in like manner on social media platforms all in the name of fashion? If they have the liberty to carry on with such immoral acts, why then should Muslim females be harassed because they use Hijab?

    Just like every other country practicing constitutional democracy, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the grundnorm and the supreme law of Nigeria. It is an expression of the will and desire of the people of Nigeria and it is from this Constitution that every other law derives its validity and source. The supremacy and binding nature of the Constitution is expressly provided for in Section 1(1) & (3) of the CFRN (1999 as amended).

    As such, having expressed our will and desire in the Constitution as the sovereign body of Nigeria, all institutions ought to strictly abide by its provisions in performing their duties and responsibilities.

    Allowing the use of Hijab is not prejudicial to public interest and the interest of justice. It does not affect advocacy and is not a threat to legal profession. Justice Aloma Mukhtar, the former CJN of Nigeria, and other female justices wore wig on their Hijab. In New York City, Justice Carolyn Walker Diallo, a female Muslim judge, was sworn in with her Hijab. Thus depriving a Muslim law student of her right to wear Hijab in the Law School is not reasonably justifiable in a democratic state like Nigeria.

    Additionally, law is dynamic in nature; it develops along with societal development and is repealed when necessary to meet the demands of the people. The practice of wearing gown and wig in the legal system today is older than Nigeria itself. It was imposed on us by the British, but in Britain it is not strictly applied as to deny Muslim female of her right to use Hijab.

    Thus, as an advocate of modern democracy and legal development, this writer implores the Council of Legal Education and concerned bodies at all levels to make such reform in the dress code for students in the Nigerian Law School that recognises the freedom to express our religious belief including choosing whether or not to wear the Hijab, free from all forms of discrimination and prejudice.

    I also implore Muslims and Nigerians at large to remain steadfast in supporting our sister Firdaus Amasa in every way we can. It is high time Hijab was recognised by all persons and professions as not only a special wear for worship but also a compulsory mode of dressing.

    • Aminat Imiotsemeh Yusuf

    Faculty of Law, Lagos State University.

  • Beyond the hijab controversy

    The decision of the authorities of the Nigerian Law School to prevent Firdaus Amasa from being called to the bar due to her mode of dressing has generated a media circus. Following the trend of debates on the issue, it is obvious that the element of religiosity involved in the matter largely incited the frenetic debates that followed. Unfortunately, religion being the delicate concept it is in human society, the debate is descending into contention between secularists and sympathisers of a particular religious sect. Yet, the Firdaus’ experience could have presented us with a platform to critically review certain faulty principles in our legal education and jurisprudential system.

    That we are having this debate at all reflects the deeply rooted legal or jurisprudential conservatism that Nigeria shares with other former European colonies. Legal practitioners in Nigeria perhaps believe that their uniform – the flowing robe and horsehair wigs – set them aside from other professionals, just as a doctor’s white coat distinguishes him or her. What is not considered is that some of these mystified legal cultures are legacies of colonialism, outmoded and long discarded in the nations of their origin.

    Eighty-six days before this year’s call to bar ceremony was held, an opinion was published in the Washington Post, with the brazen title “It’s been 50 years since Britain left. Why are so many African judges still wearing wigs?”

    The author of the piece claimed correctly that “(t)he British gave up their last colonies in Africa half a century ago. But they left their wigs behind… Not just any wigs. They are the long, white, horsehair locks worn by high court judges (and King George III). They are so old-fashioned and so uncomfortable, that even the British barristers have stopped wearing them”. Some cultures peculiar to the legal profession in Nigeria are just unfathomable why they still exist despite their apparent inconvenience and contradictions to our environment. Imagine the harmattan heat and a lawyer dressed in that suffocating contraption of a robe making submissions in a typically congested Nigerian courtroom; it’d be a lot more convenient if the official dress-code has taken comfortability of the legal practitioners into consideration. If formal dressing alone (as its the culture among legal practitioners in America for example) is what it takes to appear as an advocate in a courtroom, the drama over the Firdaus’ hijab would have been avoided – because hijab being a sort of sacrosanct identity peculiar to a sect in society would have raised no fuss when combined with other forms of formal clothing.

    The Nigeria legal system is not only conservative; it is elitist. More and more the system is programmed to inculcate in lawyers a mechanical adherence to elitist practices that are dangerous to progressive evolution of law. For example, at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, it is a norm that radical law students (especially the student activists among them) who question unfavourable policies of the university authorities risk being delayed from progressing to the law school if they receive as much as a query from the management that require them to explain why the unfavourable policies of the management is being challenged. In the policy of the law school, prospective candidates are supposed to be well-behaved, and challenging authorities over clearly oppressive policies happens to fall under the scope of “bad behaviour”; and tools such as “query”, “suspension” and other forms of “legal” instruments of political victimisation employed by universities’ authorities form an incontrovertible criteria for authorities of the Nigerian Law School to automatically designate candidates as badly behaved. It could be opined that the Nigerian Law School has been making this grave mistake, which has continuously threatened civil and democratic rights (especially the freedom to speak against perceived injustice), only because of her unwitting trust in authorities of tertiary institutions. But the school has its own similar culture of repression of democratic rights. It is in fact considered sacrilegious to protest any policy in the law school; and the school has a standing policy that exempts students with background in Students’ Unionism from standing in elections usually conducted to elect student representatives. Some law schools, in line with prevailing Nigerian standard of party democracy, have a virile zoning system that is more effective than among mainstream political parties in Nigeria – this is because an attempt to challenge the law school’s zoning arrangement holds the prospect of termination of studentship which students do not wish for.

    The implication of the clearly undemocratic practices in the Nigerian Law School forebodes a dangerous uncritical attitude among lawyers to jurisprudence, and a zombie-like loyalty to an imperfect status quo. If our lawyers are nourished on the values of uncritical, unquestioning submission to every rule, whether justified or crooked, then the chances of our laws evolving progressively from the sort of expert evaluation they ought to offer society is pathetically low. It gets to a point, which is feared we already are, that the border between secularity and religiosity becomes blurred. This becomes the case when the custodians of our laws and jurisprudence approach law with the same unquestioning fervour that a faithful gives the doctrines of his faith. If anything should be assured in society, it is the freedom of intellection and expression; and if that is denied, we are all at the risk of remaining on the same spot due to the fact that it is not allowed to think radically or to challenge the wrong prejudices, sometimes called legislation, of a few powerful elites forced on society by different manipulative methods, including our popular rigged electoral system.

    The Firdaus’ case is not about religion; it is about a lady challenging a contradictory status quo. Considering the deep contradictions in the legal practices in Nigeria, this debate should ordinarily open a Pandora’s Box for every authority connected with legal education in Nigeria. The fact that most of our laws and codes are cloned after the British system, without the consideration that we could have better laws crafted in the image of our country, makes it important for us to cultivate critical, radical minded law students. Our law schools and education institutions should be humble enough to allow criticality!

     

    • Olubanji writes from Ado-Ekiti.
  • Hijab: Reps may seek supremacy of rule of law

    Hijab: Reps may seek supremacy of rule of law

    The House of Representatives has ordered an investigation of the denial of a female Muslim law graduate from attending the Nigerian Law School call to bar ceremony for refusing to take off her headscarf (hijab).

    House Committees on Justice and Judiciary was given two weeks to carry out the investigation into the  circumstances that led to the incident.

    The House said its investigative intervention was with a view to make appropriate recommendation which may include the ultimate recognition of and compliance with the rule of law above any tradition or practice.

    This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance by Abubakar Damburam (APC, Jigawa), who noted that after the completion of the required program at the Nigeria law school, Amasa Firdaus was due to be called to bar on Tuesday, 12th December, 2017 but denied for refusing to take off her headscarf.

    “The President of the Nigeria Bar Association and the Sultan of Sokoto have raised questions about the legality of the decision of the Nigeria Law School to deny the law graduate from the call to bar

    “The controversy has attracted international media coverage such as Aljazeera and on the social media across the globe because the United Kingdom and United States of American as well as other African countries allow the use of headscarf (hijab) by female Muslims during graduation ceremony and presentation of certificates.

    “In Kenya for example, the Chief Justice of Kenya participated in a group photograph of two female Muslims who used headscarf during the graduation of law graduates. The picture and other similar pictures are all over the social media to create awareness on the matter.

    “It should be noted that despite the use of the headscarf by the student, she had the law wig on top of the headscarf which still showed compliance with the tradition of the Nigeria Law School and decency according to her religious belief.

    “The 1999 constitution of Nigeria as amended section 38 provides that every person shall be entitle to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion of belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.

    “This section supersedes any provision by any government agency or institution to contravene this section 38 of the constitution.

    “Article 8 of African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement (Act (Cap A9) LFN, 2004, provides support to the section 38 of the Nigerian Constitution as amended reads freedom of conscience, the profession and free practice of religion shall be guaranteed. No one may subject to law and order, be subjected to measure restricting the exercise of these freedoms. Yet the Nigeria Law School which is responsible to train law graduates flouts these provision.

    “It becomes worrisome that, given the aforementioned provisions of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, it can be deduced that the Fundamental Human Right of the graduate of Nigerian Law School has been violated.”

    The motion was unanimously adopted after a voice vote.

    The joint Committee was given two weeks to carry out the investigation and report back to the House for further legislative action.

  • Wearing of Hijab: The travails of the contemporary Muslim woman

    Wearing of Hijab: The travails of the contemporary Muslim woman

    For a lot of Muslim women, the wearing of Hijab is definitely a priority. In simple terms, it is a cloth worn by Muslim women to cover their heads and bodies.

    In spite of the many benefits of wearing Hijab, the Muslim woman sometimes feel out of place and outcast in the Nigeria society.

    For instance, there are some organisations where the wearing of Hijab is prohibited especially in some corporate organisations like banks and also in some schools. This prohibition placed on it by such organisations is mostly interpreted by the Muslim woman as an overt display of sentiment.

    Also, for those who bicker that the wearing of Hijab does not really portray who you are or your sense of decency, yes I agree, however, it is sometimes is a litmus that indicates how decent and religious you are.

    It helps the Muslim woman to identify herself especially with her religion and where she belongs to. Till date a lot of Muslim women still get insulted and discriminated against for no just cause for wearing their Hijab.

    No thanks to those who have in the past smeared and wrongly brandished the sacred culture of Hijab wearing on the canvass of debauchery, malpractices, indecency and other social vices.

    Also, the wearing of Hijab has received a corrosive publicity especially in the wake of Boko Haram insurgency. Quite a number of suicide bombers (females) have been reported to have worn it to conceal their nefarious intentions.

    Thus, all “Hijab wearers” are now being perceived of threats to our nation’s security owing to the above explanations. However, it should never be a basis for generalization.

    To set the records straight, it is pertinent that the writer explains the persona of the Hijab-wearing Muslim woman. She is:

    1. Honest
    2. Has integrity
    3. Loyal
    4. Decent
    5. Religious
    6. Congenial
    7. Peace loving
    8. Law abiding

    Please note that the above qualities are in no way exhaustive.

    Now, a piece of advice to our lawmakers: There should be a law in the constitution of our beloved county that protects the Muslim woman to freely express herself especially when it pertains the wearing of Hijab both in corporate, secular, government and non-governmental organisations.

    This will go a long way to creating and maintaining a peaceful and convivial environment for us all.

    God bless Nigeria!

  • Muslim women rally for hijab

    Muslim women rally for hijab

    Muslim women in Remo Zone of Ogun State has held a rally and lecture to make case for use of hijab in the country.

    Under the auspices of the Coalition of Muslim Women in Remo, the event was commenced with a rally round the major streets in Sagamu town with variety of Islamic slogans and rhymes.

    The rally which took off at about 9am at Sagamu Central Mosque to Maku road, Bright Fashion junction, Surulere,  Baruwa and  Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital Road, Ayegbami,  all within Sagamu township.

    After the rally that lasted for about three hours, the crowd returned to the Central Mosque where special lecture was delivered.

    An erudite Islamic scholar and Chief Imam of Ansar-ud-deen Society, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Otutu, emphasised the need for Muslim women to protect their chastity and fear Allah in their dressing, stressing that hijab is a fundamental principle of Islam that cannot be compromised.

    Imam Otutu urged Muslim women to be a role model and give priority to the care and training of their wards over other worldly engagement.

    The cleric used the occasion to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari.

  • Hijab: CAN expresses confidence in judiciary

    Lagos State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has applauded government’s decision to challenge an Appeal Court’s ruling on the wearing of hijab by female students in public schools at the Supreme Court.

    It said the government has reassured the Christian community of its neutrality and commitment to justice with the appeal.

    Lagos CAN’s chairman, Apostle Alexander Bamgbola, said Christians will rather pray than fight over the case.

    He also expressed confidence in the judiciary to do justice to teh case in the interest of fairness and equity.

    Bamgbola spoke with reporters last week in Lagos.

    He said: “We believe the judiciary will give the right decision because it is necessary for peace in the state.

    “We have had peace in Lagos state and we believe we are brothers and sisters with our Muslim counterparts.

    “We won’t fight because of hijab and we believe that God will give us justice.”

  • Court strikes out Lagos bid to suspend hijab use

    The Court of Appeal Lagos Division on Tuesday dismissed an application by the Lagos State Government to suspend hijab use by female Muslim pupils in public schools in the state.

    A three-man panel of the court comprising Justices M. L. Garba (presiding), J. S. Ikyegh and U. Ogakwu, gave the ruling because of a pending appeal by the state at the Supreme Court.

    The panel agreed with the state that the apex court was the proper place for the application to be heard.

    A special five-man panel of the appellate court on July 21 last year voided the 2014 verdict of a Lagos High Court, which outlawed the wearing of hijab by the pupils.

    The state in September 16 last year filed an application at the Court of Appeal, seeking an injunction for a stay of the judgment, pending the determination of an appeal it had filed at the Supreme Court.

    Counsel for the state, Mr. Hameed Oyenuga of the Directorate of Civil Litigation Department, told the court on Tuesday that the injunction was applied for before the state appealed the judgment at the apex court.

    He applied that the application be forwarded to the Supreme Court so that it could be heard alongside the appeal.

     

    “We are asking that the application be forwarded or transmitted to the Supreme Court. We have forwarded our return argument to the Supreme Court, but we are yet to ascertain whether it has been entered,” Oyenuga said.

    Counsel for the first, second and third respondents, Mr. H. T. Fajimite did not object to the request.

    The court agreed that the Supreme Court should hear the application, but observed that for that to happen, the application had to be withdrawn or struck out at the appellate court.

  • Updated: Appeal Court strikes out Lagos’ bid to suspend hijab use

    …Supreme Court to decide injunction application

     

    The Court of Appeal Lagos Division Tuesday struck out an application by the Lagos State Government seeking an injunction to suspend hijab use by Muslim female pupils in public schools in the state.

    A three-man panel of the court comprising Justices M. L. Garba (presiding), J. S. Ikyegh and U. Ogakwu, gave the ruling because of a pending appeal by the state at the Supreme Court.

    It agreed with the state that the apex court was the proper place for the application to be heard.

    Last July 21, a special five-man panel of the appellate court voided the 2014 verdict of a Lagos High Court, which outlawed the wearing of hijab by the pupils.

    The state, last September 16, filed an application at the Court of Appeal seeking an injunction for a stay of the judgment, pending the determination of an appeal it had filed at the Supreme Court.

    Yesterday, counsel for the state, Mr. Hameed Oyenuga of the Directorate of Civil Litigation Department, informed the court that the injunction was applied for before the state appealed the judgment at the apex court.

    He applied that the application be forwarded to the Supreme Court so that it could be heard alongside the appeal.

    “We are asking that the application be forwarded or transmitted to the Supreme Court. We have forwarded our return argument to the Supreme Court, but we are yet to ascertain whether it has been entered,” Oyenuga said.

    Counsel for the first, second and third respondents, Mr H. T. Fajimite did not object.

    The court agreed that the Supreme Court should hear the application, but observed that for that to happen, the application had to be withdrawn or struck out at the appellate court

    Justice Garuba said: “An appeal has been entered at the Supreme Court, you can’t expect us to transmit it to the Supreme Court. You have to withdraw the application. The application before us has to go. The application is hereby struck out.”

    Speaking after the ruling, Fajimite said the ruling implied that there was no more restriction on the use of the hijab.

    “Before now we were conceding to the fact that once an application has been is filed, for instance in terms of an application for injunction pending an appeal or stay of execution of a judgment, we are constrained or obliged to respect that action and refuse to exercise our right under the judgment that we have won.

    “That application is now gone and from this moment, no such restriction, nothing is stopping any Muslim student from using hijab for now.”

    In a unanimous decision on July 21, a special five-man panel presided over by Justice A.S. Gumel held that it would amount to discrimination on religious ground if the pupils were disallowed to wear hijab.

    The appeal was filed by two female pupils of Atunrase Junior High School in Surulere, Asiyat Kareem and Mariam Oyeniyi, under the aegis of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos State Area Unit.

    It followed the dismissal of their suit by Justice Modupe Onyeabor of the Ikeja High Court on October 17, 2014, which challenged the government ban on hijab use in public schools.

    In the lead judgement Justice Gumel held: “The wearing of hijab is an Islamic injunction and also an act of worship,” hence it will constitute a clear violation of the appellants’ constitutionally guaranteed rights to stop them from wearing thehijab in public schools.”

    Resolving all the five issues raised in favour of the appellants, the appellate court held that the lower court erred in law when it held that the hijab ban is the policy of Lagos State Government (respondent).

    It noted that no circular was presented before the lower court to show such a policy existed, adding that “he who asserts must prove”.

    The court observed that if there was such a policy, it should have emanated from the House of Assembly and not the Executive Arm of government.

    It held that the fundamental human rights of female Muslim pupils as enshrined in Section 38 (1) of the 1999 Constitution was violated by the respondent.

    The appellate court dismissed the govrnment’s argument that it made an exception by allowing the pupils to wear hijab during prayers.

  • Muslim women allege harassment, discrimination over hijab use

    Muslim women allege harassment, discrimination over hijab use

    Some Muslim women under the aegis of Hijab Rights Advocacy Initiative, yesterday deplored what they called the frequent harassment of those of them who use hijab, a veil for covering the head and part of the face.

    At a briefing in Alausa, Ikeja, to mark the World Hijab Day (WHD), the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Al-Muminaat, The Criterion, Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) and Guild of Muslim Professionals (GMP), noted that some government institutions and private agencies were involved in the discriminatory act, which they described as an infringement on their rights.

    WHD is a yearly event celebrated every February 1 in over 140 countries worldwide. Its purpose is to raise awareness about modest Muslim dress and to encourage non-Muslim women to wear and experience the hijab for a day.

    The groups’ Coordinator, Hajia Mutiat Orolu-Balogun, said some women in hijab were denied jobs and other opportunities despite being qualified.

    Women in hijab, she claimed, were also forced to expose their ears and their heads before writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) or getting Bank Verification Number (BVN).

    Mrs Orolu-Balogun, a lawyer, said: “Imagine being asked to take off your shirt or your trousers because you wanted to get your driver’s licence, or being told you would not be able to vote in the next elections because you wouldn’t bare your shoulders or show your cleavage in the picture on your voter’s, card, or that you wouldn’t have access to the funds in your bank account because you refused to show your bare back in order to register for your BVN. These, and worse, are what a Muslim woman who wears the hijab feels when she is asked to take off her hijab or expose her ears before she could be allowed her constitutional rights!”

    She described hijab as a religious duty and an obligation on every Muslim woman in the observance of her faith, saying it is not the culture of Arabs or a fashion accessory that one may discard at will.

    “The right to believe in and practise one’s chosen faith is an inalienable right of every human being, as entrenched in the constitution,” she added.

    She relived what some hijab-wearing women went through in the past: “In October 2016, a Muslim woman applied for a Radiographer job at Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Oyingbo, Lagos Mainland, a government hospital and was shortlisted for an interview.

    “On the day of the interview she was told to her face; ‘why are you dressed like this? I cannot Interview you.’ by the then Chief Medical Director, who happened to head the interview panel. She waited for a while and even tried to plead, while other candidates were given the opportunity to be interviewed for the job. The security man was then called to escort her out of the premises!

    “Dear fellow Nigerians, this is a hospital owned by the government! And this is a citizen of Nigeria!”

    MSSN Lagos State Area Unit President Hajia Hafsah Badru urged the media to be objective, fair and accurate in reporting cases related to hijab use.

    According to her, asking a Muslim woman to remove her hijab is a form of violence against women, and such should have no place in a progressive society like Nigeria.

    “One thing we all seem to agree on is that violence against women is wrong in all its forms, whether it is physical, emotional or psychological.  However, covering one’s head doesn’t mean that person should be looked down upon or be underestimated. Women in hijab deserve to enjoy their constitutional rights,” Hajia Badru said.