World Hijab Day: Muslim women praise Buhari, Ambode for pro-hijab stand

Muslim women in Lagos State have praised President Muhammadu Buhari and Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, for their pro-hijab stance. The praise came in the wake of the World Hijab Day marked on Monday.  The women, under the umbrella of  Al-Mu’Minaat Organisation, at a media briefing in Ikeja, Lagos, commended both the president and […]

Muslim women in Lagos State have praised President Muhammadu Buhari and Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, for their pro-hijab stance. The praise came in the wake of the World Hijab Day marked on Monday.
 The women, under the umbrella of  Al-Mu’Minaat Organisation, at a media briefing in Ikeja, Lagos, commended both the president and the governor for not allowing anybody or organisation to trample on the right of every Muslim woman to use the hijab as part of her dressing.
 In addition, the organisation saluted other institutions such as the University College Hospital, Ibadan, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and MTN Nigeria, “for the actions they exhibited lately, showing their pro-hijab stance.”
The Al-Mu’Minaat Organisation, however, urged the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) to “call their men to order and stop the attempt to rob Muslim women of their right to wear hijab.”
 The association reiterated that Muslim women have the right to freedom of religious expression.
According to the National Amirah of Al-Mu’Minaat, Nimatullah Abdullateef, “The hijab has had its fair share of pains and gains in the country in the past year.”
She pointed out that the statement credited to President Buhari during the December 30, 2015, Presidential Media Chat where the president said that the Federal Government might consider banning the wearing of hijab if Boko Haram insurgents wearing the hijab continued with their suicide bombing mission using the hijab, was widely misunderstood.
“This statement generated unprecedented uproar from lovers and haters of the hijab alike. Al-Mu’Minaat commends the president and his media spokesman, Garba Shehu, for promptly releasing a statement to put the president’s statement in proper perspectives.
“Al-Mu’Minaat remembers with painful nostalgia the hopefully isolated incidents of harassment, persecution and emotional and psychological anguish Muslim women wearing the hijab have suffered in Nigeria in recent times.
“The attempt by authorities of the Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Ibadan office to legislate and limit the hijab standards of Muslim women and free citizens of Nigeria still remain a festering sore in our hearts, while we note with suppressed anguish the harassment of Muslim women in hijab by officers and men of the Nigerian Army within and without military installations in different cities all over Nigeria,” she said.
Abdullateef noted that other government agencies particularly the NIS and FRSC were trying to rob the Muslim woman of her right to freedom of religious expression by demanding that she exposes her ears during image capturing, adding that the managements of both organisations should call their staff to order.
“The hijab has been, is, and will continue to be, and we implore Nigerian authorities, within and without government, and at all levels, to let hijab be,” she said, adding; “Together, we shall sustain the hijab in the mainstream of public life, and peace and tranquillity to mother earth.”
Delivering a goodwill message at the briefing, the Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile Yussuf said that most often, the hijab is misinterpreted, leading to the discrimination of many Muslim women in the workplaces while others are emotionally abused through insensitive remarks.
Represented by Mrs. Rashidat Umar, an Assistant Chief Youth Development Officer in the ministry, Yussuf said the hijab is worn by Muslim women as a symbol of adherence to the commandments of Almighty Allah regarding modesty, privacy and morality.
“Putting on the hijab is a personal and independent decision that comes from a sincere yearning to please Almighty Allah while appreciating the wisdom underlying His Command,” she said.