The Muslim
rights concern group has submitted a memorandum to the Federal house of
Representatives concerning the 'injustice' meted out to a Muslim student,
Firdaus Amasa.
Amasa made
headlines late last year after she refused to remove her hijab in order to be
called to bar. Below is a statement made available to PoliticsNGR from MURIC,
signed by its leader, Prof. Ishaq Akintola;
The
Committee on Judiciary and Justice of the House of Representatives was mandated
on Wednesday 20th December, 2017 to investigate the circumstances surrounding
Law School hijabgate. A law graduate of the University of Ilorin, AbdulSalaam
Firdaus Amasa, was barred from ‘call to bar’ by the Nigerian Law School. The
committee was given two weeks for the assignment.
The Muslim
Rights Concern (MURIC) has since dispatched its memorandum to the committee.
In summary,
MURIC’s memorandum which was addressed to the Chairman of the House Committee
on Judiciary and Justice and entitled “Memorandum in Respect of Call to Bar
Case in the School of Law”, affirmed the mandatory nature of hijab for Muslim
women in the Qur’an and restated the provisions of the Nigerian constitution on
freedom of religion and respect for the dignity of the human person. The
memorandum also revealed previous court decisions in favour of hijab including
a Court of Appeal pronouncement confirming the right of Muslim women to use
hijab.
MURIC
appealed to the House of Representatives to “stand up for justice in this
matter of infringement of Allah-given fundamental right of a lady who, having
satisfied all righteousness in the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, is
being denied her right to practice the law profession on account of her being a
Muslim”.
The
memorandum also stated that the Law School Hijabgate has brought to the fore
the myriad of persecutions faced by Muslim women because of hijab in various
sectors.
It adds, “In
the process, thousands of Muslims have been denied international passports,
driving licences and national identity cards while millions have been
disenfranchised during elections. It is a case of mass profiling of Muslims.”
It added,
“We therefore appeal to the House of Representatives as the voice of the
voiceless and the bulwark against oppression and persecution, to take the bull
by the horn by criminalizing the obstruction, denial and stigmatisation of
female Muslim women in hijab while carrying out their civic responsibilities
like obtaining international passport, driving licence, voters’ registration
card, etc.
MURIC
concluded by seeking the following reliefs:
1. Immediate
‘call to bar’ for AbdulSalaam Firdaus Amasa;
2. A
judicial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the molestation of Muslim
students who were forced to remove their hijab on that fateful day;
3.
Identification and adequate disciplinary measure (or measures) in respect of
the Law School female lecturer who stepped on the hijab of Firdaus and debased
it by using her feet to rub it on the floor and “kicked it around”;
4. a review
of the code of dressing in the Nigerian Law School as it affects the
‘manifestation’ of religious beliefs and
5. a review
of the dress code in all professions where uniforms are used such that female
Muslims in such professions can use suitable hijab along with the uniform.
0 Comments