“Hijab is our right; hijab is our religion and hijab is our Islam. We can work in a company; we can even work in the banks with our hijab. Hijab doesn’t cover our brains so we can work wearing our hijab; we are intelligent”. A Muslim student expressed her concern.
Hundreds of Muslims embarked on a walk against what they describe as ‘discrimination against Muslim women who put on hijabs at workplaces and schools’, .
The ‘Hijab Identity campaign’ which took place last Saturday in Accra and Kumasi respectively, was against the ban on the wearing of hijabs in some schools and workplaces in the country.
In Accra, the demonstrators walked from the Nima roundabout to the Kwame Nkrumah interchange popularly known as ‘circle’ to express their displeasure.
“For some time now, we have had complains of our students and workers being forced to remove their hijabs, which is not right because the Constitution guarantees freedom of worship and the hijab is what defines us as Muslims” said Bashiratu Kamal, Convenor of the ‘Hijab Identity Campaign’.
She added that the “Hijab is the identity of Muslim women which cannot be taken away from them”. She went on that their capabilities and qualifications should be the areas to look at, and not their appearances as the hijab does not make them dumb.
Sulemana Aligata, former Member of Parliament for Sissala East also joined the campaign walk. Hon. Aligata demanded immediate action against institutions that discriminate against Muslim girls in society. “The constitution enshrines every Ghanaian to be free and enjoy any religion of their choices”.
Supporting the Muslim women was Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, the Spokesperson of the National Chief Imam. Sheikh pleaded with Government and Heads of state institutions to address the security implications of the discrimination against their girls in hijab.
“In this country, we have seen the occurrence and recurrence of this discrimination for a long time,…We want to tell the whole country that discrimination on Religious grounds is wrong and unconstitutional, so they should drop that discrimination”.
Filed by: Theresa Adezewa Ayittey | Parliament House
Joe Bright Nyarko
Journalist/Communication Researcher. Environment & Sustainability Advocate. Managing Editor of aptnewsghana.com, a non-profit news portal with bias towards environment and sustainability issues, rural development policies and gender & inequality.
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