Undressing The Hijab Harassment By Camelia Nathaniel Muslim women are a fast - growing population in Sri Lanka that reflects the breadth of this country’ s racial, ethnic, and multicultural heritage. Many Muslim women, although by no means all , practice wearing the hijab in accordance with their religious beliefs : these women may wear a headscarf , also known as hijab or khimar , and loose - fitting clothing when they are in public and when they are in the presence of men who are not part of their immediate family . Some women additionally cover much of their face with a covering known as a niqab . Muslim women, like all people in this country , have the right to practice their religion. They also have the right to be treated equally and the right not to be discriminated against or harassed because of their religion , their gender , or perceptions about their nationality or ethnicity. However , in the most recent incident to be reported , two students in Grade 7 of Janadipathi Balika Vidyalaya on School Lane, Nawala, were alleged to have been ordered to remove their trouser and scarf and also made to worship the principal of this school for having defied her orders not to wear them to school . This has led to a major uproar among the Muslim community, especially the parents of these students . Stipulated uniforms It was also reported that , earlier , the Principal of this school had allegedly banned parents and students clad in tradition Muslim attire from entering the school premises. As far back as 1980 , the Ministry of Education, by a circular issued to all Zonal Directors, instructed that Muslim girls must be permitted to attend school attired in their traditional Punjabi attire which comprises a white frock , a trouser and a shawl. However , contrary to allegations that the Principal of Janadipathi Balika Vidyalaya Nayana Lakshitha Perera is reported to have taken the same stance – that Janadipathi Balika Vidyalaya is a Buddhist school . She claims that there are over 30 Muslim students studying at the school and they have never had any issue prior to this incident . She also claims that many reports had emerged in the media charging that she had made the girls kneel and worship her , for having defied her orders not to wear the trouser and shawl . According to reports , following the actions of the principal of the school , preventing these girls from wearing the trouser and scarf to school , several of the Muslim parents had lodged a complaint with the Western Province Governor’ s office. Subsequently , on February 25, officials at the Governor’ s office had assured the parents that the students could attend the school in their trouser and scarf. It was also reported that when the two girls had attended school on March 3, the class teacher of one of the students had informed the Principal that these girls had attended school clad in trouser and scarf despite the warning . The Principal had been infuriated and had asked the girls to worship her after they were ordered to undress . Principal’ s denial However , the Principal , speaking to The Sunday Leader denied having severely reprimanded the two students . She said that all she had done was to ask the children why they had worn the trouser and the shawl to school , despite having been told to wear only the stipulated school uniform . She vehemently denied ever punishing the children and getting them to worship her , stating that, if such an incident had taken place , the rest of the school and the parents would have witnessed such an incident. This incident has once again stirred racial tensions in the school and several of the parents of these Muslim students had voiced their objections and concerns regarding the treatment of their children in schools, and also of the lack of regard for the customs and beliefs of the Muslims. Meanwhile , seeing that their children were harassed and discriminated, a group of 11 parents had lodged a complaint at the Western Province Governor Alawi Mawlana’ s office as this was a provincial school . The parents had requested the Governor to intervene and inform the Director of the Provincial Education Department to permit them to visit the school clad in hijab, and to permit their children to pursue their education dressed in the traditional Muslim attire in accordance with the circulars and orders of the Supreme Court . It was only after the Governor’ s office had informed the parents that the relevant instructions would be given out to the school that the children went to the school on March 3, 2014 and had to face the above incident. While several parties have expressed numerous views regarding this matter , and irrespective of whether these Buddhist schools should accommodate Muslim children permitting them to wear the head dress and trousers , the issue at hand is in the manner the incident had been handled. Female activists and human rights advocates believe that , as a principal of a school , this issue should have been addressed in a more civilized and compassionate manner rather than resorting to humiliating these girls in the presence of others and subjecting them to the embarrassment of having to take off their trousers and scarf . On the other hand , there are others who steadfastly believe that Muslim women should be free to express their religious beliefs including choosing whether or not to wear head coverings free from discrimination and prejudice. Hijab: free choice or social pressure ? According to numerous feminist groups , as well as some human rights advocacy groups , wearing the scarf symbolizes a woman ’ s submission to men. It is believed that permitting the veil in schools risks opening the door to other practices that exist in the Muslim world, and which pose even more of a handicap for women. It is often rejected that forbidding the hijab would limit freedom. Rather, it is argued that the hijab is not a free choice, but a result of social pressures, and where the law does not forbid the practice of wearing the hijab, social pressure may render it obligatory. School authorities and the government education officials while admitting that there is a court ruling permitting the Muslim students to wear their scarf and trousers to school , claim that it is violating the school traditions , where certain specific uniforms have been made compulsory . They stated that if this leniency is shown toward the Muslim students , it would only be a matter of time before other religious denominations too seek to attend school clad in their preferred attire . Azath Sally Leader of the Muslim Tamil National Alliance A circular was issued stating very clearly that Muslim girls could wear the long trouser and a shawl to school . Still , the school principals continue to violate that order and act according to their whims and fancy. There was one incident where a teacher was wearing a hijab and she was asked to remove it and enter the school . Then, here at the President’ s College in Nawala, they told the girls to take off their trouser and shawl and worship the principle for defying her orders and coming to school clad in them . So , it is clear that these principals are violating their own constitution and the right of the Muslims. This circular was issued as most of them were unaware that there was such a ruling . However , there are extremist groups who are acting against the Muslim community in this country and who are making it very hard for them . It is sad that , while the school authorities have been clearly found to have violated a government circular , permitting these children to wear their shawl and trousers to school , no action has been taken so far against the principals who have violated this circular . I have asked the parents to file a complaint against the school authorities with the police and I will move to file a fundamental rights application . We do not want to spare any principal who does not adhere to the circular issued by the authorities . We are no longer afraid of intimidation and we will resort to legal means in order to fight out the injustice meted out against us Muslims in this country. —————————————— P N Ilapperuma Western Province Provincial Education Director There is no tension or issue at the school currently. I, too , met the parents of these children and they requested that we provide these children another school and we have made provisions to give them an alternative national school instead of the President’ s College in Nawala. At the school , there is no problem now and there are other Muslim children still studying there without any issue. There were two issues that arose at that particular school . One was that mothers clad in their head veil and face veil were not permitted to enter the school . The other was about the female students not being granted permission to attend school clad in the trouser and scarf in keeping with the Muslim traditions . We have instructed the principals of the schools to permit the parents clad in the habaya to attend school matters and they have agreed . However , in the case of students being permitted to wear the trouser and head scarf, we have asked the principles of the schools to view each case individually and decide according to the traditions and customs of the school . The schools will have to decide on the uniform and if any alterations or additions could be accommodated. Earlier, a circular was issued permitting the Muslim students to attend school clad in their trouser and scarf, but , in practically implementing this ruling , there have been numerous issues that have arisen from the school community. When one segment of children are permitted to wear a certain dress to school apart from the traditional uniform of each particular school , then there are concerns and issues raised by the other communities . This situation can affect the smooth functioning of the schools . Especially in girls schools , there is a standard uniform and , when parents enroll their children to these particular schools, they are made aware of the school attire and traditions and they invariably agree to all these conditions . After they have got their children into school , they come up with all these demands and , in turn, put the school authorities in great difficulty. Although the circular has been issued permitting these Muslim students to wear the trouser and scarf , there are traditions in all schools and in some instances this violates the school regulations and traditions . This is a very complicated situation and we cannot force all the schools to allow for these provisions, but it will have to be taken up case by case and dealt with accordingly. ———————————— Nayana Lakshitha Perera Principal of Janadipathi Balika Vidyalaya We have around 3000 students in our school and I am rather new to the school having being appointed just one year and seven months ago. All our students wear the standard school uniform which is a square neck , short sleeved box pleated dress. When the students are enrolled, we give them a drawing as to what the uniform should be and we have not had any issue . There are around 30 Muslim students attending our school and they have all adhered to the school regulations and wear the stipulated uniform. These Muslim students head many of our sports teams and are functioning without any discrimination or issue. On March 3 , however , two students had come to school clad in pants and a shawl in addition to the standard uniform. The teacher in charge at the gate and some of the parents then informed me that these two girls had come to school with the additional attire and asked if I had granted them permission to do so . I said that I had not and went to speak to the children. By then , one of them had already taken off her trouser and shawl. I asked the girls why they had come clad in these clothing . They told me that it was due to parental pressure that they had to do so . The other student willingly went to the changing room and removed the additional clothing and attended classes as usual. None of the alleged harassment ever took place and I never got them to worship me nor did I humiliate these girls and forcibly remove their attire . I reported the matter to the Zonal Education Director. He then sent an official who came to the school and logged an entry , stating that I had attended to the issue at hand appropriately . That was all that happened and the matter was resolved . Some newspapers carried reports that I had removed the girls hijab. The girls were not even wearing the hijab and they were only wearing the trouser and the shawl. Two persons came to the school claiming to be from the Defence Ministry and threatened me. I did not check their identities at the time . I later found out that they were in fact two Muslims who had come to threaten me and had nothing to do with the Defence Ministry. Some threatening calls say that this will be taken up in Geneva – trying to create a huge issue – turning a mere disciplinary incident into a racial and religious discriminatory issue. I have been receiving threatening calls and there have also been reports that I am unsuitable for this position and I am a grade three principal appointed to a grade one school . This is a clear attempt at tarnishing my reputation. I am in this post through my merits and not on any political or other affiliation. I have been placed fifth in the Sri Lanka Educational Administrative Service Limited Exam ( SLEAS ) island wide rankings . I have been selected for this position after having competed with 14 others for this post . —————————————- Jezima Ismail Educationist, Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission The issue here is not the costume but the manner in which the whole issue was handled by the school principal . The girls subjected to this treatment were embarrassed and humiliated . This can lead to severe psychological trauma in these young adolescents . I really cannot understand why the school authorities are preventing these students from wearing their head cover and trousers to school if there is a court order and circular issued . If there had been a concert or some function where a particular costume had to be worn , then I can understand if these girls were asked to dress in accordance to that particular event. I cannot understand why the school principal suddenly decided to prevent these children from wearing the head scarf and trousers without a valid reason. Had there been an issue with these girls wearing the head scarf and trousers , discussing the matter and arriving at a reasonable solution is one matter, but actually getting the students to remove the head scarf and the trouser is absolutely humiliating where the child is concerned. What is sad is that this incident had to take place in the manner it did. It could have been discussed and resolved in a civilized manner with the participation of the parents and the school authorities instead of how it was handled that has caused so much tension and grief . If this issue is reported to the Human Rights Commission, we will take up the matter and deal with it accordingly.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 10:59:02 +0000
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