Nigerian Court Lifts Hijab Ban In Lagos Schools

As countries like France are taking steps perceived by some as anti-Muslim by banning certain articles of Islamic clothing, Nigeria has taken the opposite approach by lifting a previous ban on the hijab.

Reexamining a previous ruling by the Lagos High Court banning the Islamic hijab, also known as a headscarf, from public schools in the African nation’s capital city, the Lagos Court of Appeals unanimously opted to lift the ban, allowing Muslim girls to don the religious head piece.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MRC) called the ruling reversing the ban a major victory for religious freedom and justice.

“The fact that the judgment was unanimous and only two of the five judges are Muslims leaves a firm stamp of authority on the legality of the use of hijab not only by female Muslim students but also by all Muslim women in the country,” said a spokesperson for the MRC to BBC News.

Though Nigeria’s northern population is predominantly Muslim, as its southern half is mostly Christian, the country’s enormous capital city is home to millions from each religion, often even living side by side and attending the same institutions. Public schools are no exception.

The Lagos State Government (LASG) passed a law years ago banning the hijab under the argument that public schools were secular institutions and that the hijab was not an integral part of the school uniforms assigned for the students to wear.

The law was initially challenged in a Lagos High Court in 2013 when two 12-year-old girls, Asiyat Kareem and Mariam Oyeniyi, who were part of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), claimed it violated their constitutional rights, particularly sections 38 and 42 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution which grant freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination respectively.

Siding with the LASG, the High Court ruled to uphold the hijab ban.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the MSSN, under the persistent leadership of Kareem and Oyeniyi, took their case for their right to wear the hijab to the higher appeals court.

The five-person panel, presided by Justice A.B. Gumel, unanimously agreed that the hijab was deemed by some Muslim women as a required article of dress and that wearing it corresponds to practice of one’s personal religious beliefs. Therefore, banning it violates sections 38 and 42 of the Constitution.

Some, including representatives from the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, were very pleased by the appellate court’s decision to reverse the ban on hijabs. Alhaji Abubakar, the council’s president-general and Sultan of Sokoto told Nigeria’s Today that the move reaffirmed what was already in the Constitution, but warned against followers of either religion going beyond the law as the debate continues.

“To you, your religion and to me my religion,” said Abubakar. “Do not take laws into your hands. There are courts in this country and we believe courts will give us justice whenever we take such matters to them because we believe we are on the right path.”

“We are not forcing anybody to use hijab but whoever wants to use hijab must be allowed to use hijab.”

Those on the other side of the debate saw the reverse ruling on the hijab ban as a threat to separation of church and state. Secretary Israel Akinadewo from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) issued a written statement, according to Vanguard, condemning the decision.

“There should be a standard dress code for all, to be made public for all students who attend public schools in Lagos State,” wrote Akinadewo. “Tax payers monies are used for the establishment and running of these schools, hence religious dress codes should not be allowed under any circumstance.”

Though in favor of the hijab ban in public schools, Akinadewo maintained that private schools should be allowed to use whatever dress code they want, religious or otherwise.

[Photo by Sunday Alamba/AP Images]