In the name of Allah, the beneficent and the Merciful
The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit under the distinguished leadership of Amir Mas’ud Kolawole, ASCAP a no has condemned in its entirety the refusal to call AbdulSalam Fridaos Amasa to the Nigerian Bar on the last Call to Bar ceremony, on the basis that she wore an hijab.
This injustice took place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja by the Nigerian Law School and by extension the Council of Legal Education on Wednesday, 13th December, 2017.
This unconstitutional act has been in existence for a very long period of time, wherein female Muslims have always been victimised and traumatised by the Nigerian Law School and the Council of Legal Education, Abuja to remove their hijab for the Call.
This act is archaic, barbaric, unreasonable and unconstitutional, as it’s not in conformity with the global trend in the noble profession. It is imperative to state that, even those who colonized us have gone beyond such practice. One wonders while we still hold on to such archaic and out-fashioned practice.
We therefore ask the Nigerian Law School and by extension the Council for Legal Education on what has happened to Subsection (1) of section 38 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2011 as amended)?, which provides that every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and Religion … and in Public and Private to propagate and practice his religion…
We must also emphasize that there are several other judgements which guarantee the right of Female Muslims to hijab. This include, the Court of Appeal Decisions in Provost, Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin and two (2) ORS vs Bashirat Saliu and ors; AbdulKareem v Lagos State Govt (2016). In addition, Osun State High Court also delivered a judgement on 3rd June, 2016 in a case between Sheikh Olayiwola and ORS Vs Osun State Government and ORS pronounced the judgement in favour of Female Muslim Students.
Beyond all these, the use of hijab by the Female Muslims is an injunction by Allah which every conscious female Muslim MUST adhere to as stated in Qur’an 24 v 31:
Surah An-Noor, Verse 31:
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَىٰ عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband’s fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss.
(English – Yusuf Ali)
On this note, MSSN, Lagos State Area Unit with higher hierarchies of the society (B-Zone, National Headquarters) in conjunction with other relevant Islamic bodies, will put necessary mercenaries in place to right this wrong and therefore call on all Muslims all over the country to stand against this injustice and do everything possible to make sure that female Muslims are no longer victimized and traumatized at the Call to Bar Ceremony because of their Allah given right.
We therefore use this medium to call on the Nigeria Law School and by extension the Council of Legal Education and all other concerned Institutions to reverse this archaic, crooked, unprofessional, unconstitutional rule.
Signed
MALLAM YUSUF ‘AWWAL
PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
MSSN, LAGOS STATE AREA UNIT
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English 