26th March, 2019
MURIC FAULTS FG ON HIJAB SAGA
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has faulted a statement credited
to the Federal Government (FG) on the hijab saga. FG was quoted last week as
saying that it would not interfere in the hijab imbroglio which has embroiled
the South West.
This was disclosed in a press statement issued by the Islamic human
rights organization on Tuesday 26th March, 2019. The statement was
signed by Professor Ishaq Akintola, the Founder and Director of the organization.
“The Federal Government cannot afford to close its eyes to this
serious human rights abuse within in its domain. The whole country is FG’s
constituency. Isn’t FG concerned that the girl child is being chased out of school
on account of her religion?
“School girls in hijab were locked out of the school gates in the
University of Ibadan International School (UIS) and Federal University of
Technology Staff School, Ogbomosho. The same has happened in Abeokuta and
Lagos. Apart from this, the courts in the South West are saturated with hijab
cases.
“The court cases underline the need for FG to direct the
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation to invite all the commissioners
for Justice in the affected states to discuss the issue.
“There
are serious implications involved in this hijab imbroglio. It is more than just
simple denial of a head cover. Those who deprive female Muslim children of the
right to use hijab are engaging in child abuse, stigmatization and profiling.
By treating the Muslim girl-child with contempt and derision, they expose her
to ridicule, assault the dignity of her human person and rob her of her
self-confidence.
“In addition, they promote child depression and
education-fatigue in the girl-child because their hostile and illegal action is
capable of discouraging the Muslim girl-child from attending school. This is
paradoxical because various state governments have criminalized failure to
attend school by any child of school age. Failure to indicate interest in the
hijab affair in the South West will defeat FG’s campaign for girl-child
education.
“It is equally important to add that FG’s lack of interest is already
breeding impunity in illegality as other federal agencies have made it their
cardinal duty to persecute Muslim women who wear hijab. The excesses manifest
in immigration department where Muslim women in hijab are forced to remove it
before ‘capturing’ takes place for processing international passports.
“The same is currently happening in the Federal Road Safety Corps
(FRSC) where women in hijab are subjected to this humiliating demand before ‘capturing’
for driving licences. The involvement of federal agencies in the victimization of
Muslim women makes it more imperative for FG to show interest. It proves that
the problem is not limited to the South West. It has national spread.
“It requires strategic thinking. FG must rise to the occasion
before it is too late. The Muslims are complaining now without being violent. We
are still fortunate that MURIC, which is spearheading the matter is a
non-violent human rights group which employs civilized methods to make its
demands. We must not wait until extremist elements hijack the struggle. We
remind FG that justice is the soul of peace. Those who deny one cannot enjoy
the other.
“We therefore advise FG to issue a circular criminalizing the
harassment of women in hijab in any government office in Nigeria. Furthermore,
FG must educate these government functionaries on the illegality of disallowing
hijab-wearing women from performing their civic responsibilities. Government
must also go further by ensuring that any civil servant who is caught doing so
after the enlightenment is duly punished.
“The Nigerian constitution
is rich in guidelines but compliance, implementation and enforcement are the
problems. Refusal to allow a woman in hijab to perform a civic duty is a breach
of Section 42 of the1999 Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which stipulates that:
(1) A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group,
place of origin, sex, RELIGION or political opinion shall not, by reason only
that he is such a person:-
(a) be subjected
either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in
Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government (or
its agencies-addition ours), to disabilities or RESTRICTIONS to which citizens
of Nigeria, of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex,
religion or political opinions are not made subject.
“It is also a contravention
of Section 13 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act (1991) which provides
that, “a public officer shall not do or
direct to be done, in abuse of his office, any act prejudicial to the rights of
any person knowing that such act is unlawful or contrary to any government
policy’’
“To conclude this advocacy,
we call on FG to review its stand on noninvolvement in the hijab affair. It is
a matter of serious national concern. We urge FG to urgently issue a circular to
all its ministries and agencies stopping the illegal, unlawful and
unconstitutional intimidation of women in hijab as explained above. We assert
that denial of right to use hijab in schools is child abuse, stigmatization,
promotion of girl-child depression and deprivation of girl-child education”.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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