School girls in Ogun State have been asked to start covering their heads with hijab in public schools.
This call was made by the League of Imams and Alfas Ogun State, during its December meeting held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The Islamic clerics asked all female Muslim students in Ogun to start using Hijab in public schools in the State.
The declaration, they said, followed a recent meeting they had with the State government on the need for their female children to adorn themselves with hijab on their school uniforms in government-owned schools.
In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Sheikh Tajudeen Adewunmi, after the Tuesday’s meeting, the Islamic leaders, said the commencement of the usage of hijab starts January 9, 2023 when the students would resume for their second term.
They clarified that only “desiring and willing female Muslim students could adorn white colour shoulder length cape hijab as they resume for the second term of the 2022/2023 academic session on Monday 9th January, 2023 and henceforth without any fear of molestation or punishment.”
The statement read partly that, “Many female Muslim students in Nigeria, and Ogun State in particular have continued to feature unnecessarily in many protracted cases of infringements on their rights in their quest to practice their religion, especially as regards the use of hijab in schools.
“However, all doubts or controversies on the matter have been put to rest by the pronouncement of the Honourable Justices of the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which reaffirmed the rights of Muslim students in Nigerian Schools to use hijab as they so wished.
“It should also be put on record that many agencies of the Ogun State government have always expressed that there is no law whatsoever that prevented female Muslim students from the use of hijab in spite of the fact that Muslim students who put on hijab have always been beaten, embarrassed or/and humiliated in many ways over the years.
“God’s given rights and freedom that are also guaranteed by the law of the land do not require any formality or approval.”
The clerics league pleaded with the State government to warn teachers and school heads to desist from depriving Muslim female students their human rights and accept the approval of the use of hijab in schools.
“We request the State government to warn overzealous and religious intolerant individuals among school heads and teachers as well as others who might want to take laws into their own hands by preventing Muslim students who are willing to express their fundamental human right.
“The Muslim Community had noted the previous intolerance and disdain from non Muslim teachers and heads of schools against Muslim students on this matter, which include (but not limited to) molestation, affliction of physical injury and many forms of harassment.
“The hitherto tolerance from Muslims has been taken for granted and the Muslim community will not hesitate to take necessary actions against any individual that could frustrate the desire and the efforts in the exercise of the rights of any Muslim in any form or guise,” they warned.