Muritala Ayinla The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit, has asked the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, to order the issuance of a circular in compliance with the Court of Appeal judgement granting the use of hijab in public schools. In a statement signed by its president, Basheerah Majekodunmi, MSSN said that a circular reminding school administrators of the court’s ruling which allows Muslim students to use the hijab in schools needed to be issued.
Majekodunmi, who spoke at a conference to commemorate 2022 World Hijab Day, called on Governor Sanwo- Olu to order the circular to be issued, saying that many principals, teachers, and administrators are causing crises in schools under the guise that they did not receive the previously issued circular under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration. The student leader, however, warned school principals and teachers against victimisation and discrimination of Muslim students, describing it as a fight against morality and public approval of indecency among young people.
“Ignorance is no excuse before the law. These teachers and principals who either feign ignorance or turn a deaf ear to justice and morality have made it difficult and fearful for students to use their hijab as prescribed by their creator! “It is high time the Lagos State Government issued another circular that will be well-publicised. We enjoin peace in Lagos State and we don’t want a crisis.
Some principals and teachers are acting unlawfully and in a manner that could cause outrage without quick intervention,” she stated. Majekodunmi also acknowledged efforts by the state government to provide quality education for school students but warned that continuous victimisation of students may sabotage these efforts.
“The picture of Governor Sanwo- Olu sitting with a hijab-wearing student is a clear contrast to the injustice meted out to some students who also choose to wear the hijab in other schools,” she added. She lamented the case of two female Muslim students at Igboye Community High School, Igboye, Epe, who were made to stand outside the classroom in the sun while their classmates were writing an examination, stating that MSSN Lagos would continue to take such cases up until the Supreme Court’s verdict. Majekodunmi, therefore, advised students to aspire to be great no matter the challenges and speak out when they experience any form of molestation or victimisation. The 2022 World Hijab Day, which is themed “Hijab is our Crown, not a Crime,” is organised across the world as a reiteration of the disapproval of continuous harassment of females in schools and workplaces, also to put an end to such practices.