Hijab designed in different shapes and colours is the veil that covers the face and chest which is particularly worn by Muslim women beyond the age of puberty in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family and non-Muslim women.
The garment is meant to ensure decency, so thought out by Islam. Though it does not chiefly denote chastity or holiness, many agree that Hijab actually project and protect the adherents against undue exposure of the sensitive parts of their body to the opposite sex or ‘infidels’. Therefore it hides the person wearing it from the prying eyes of men who could not manage their libido properly.
Yet that sole Islamic women’s fashion has become a tool in the hands of some people who have some axe to grind in Osun. This however was sparked off by an Osun State High court judgment to the effect that Muslim students have the fundamental right to wear Hijab in school. Many Christians and others, who felt hijab should be reserved for informal use especially at home, have argued that every school have uniform and students should adhere to their uniforms. They also argued that in the alternative the Christians should be allowed to wear the choir garments to attend classes. However, the issue of hijab was twisted further when the traditional religious leaders in the state gathered and kitted their wards in masquerade attire.
The implication of the whole scenario is that when one gets to a school one is confronted with coats of many colours as Muslim girls, Christians and traditionalists rival one another for overflowing garments representative of their various religions. The argument is that if the young Muslim girl has the fundamental human right to wear hijab, the same constitution also entitles her counterpart in Christian religion or other religions to wear whatever she desires. Yet many queried why hijab should cause the present cacophony while the major reason which is the inculcation of the right attitude and academic excellence in the child is left to suffer after all Osun has never been first in JAMB nor SSCE in recent time.
Many argue also that ever before Aregbesola became governor, hijab-wearing by female students in both Muslim and Christian schools in different parts of the territory now known as Osun State had existed; though there have been periodic arguments about hijab in the schools, but never have such arguments overshadowed discussions about education in the state, where there are more serious problems to be solved. They said it is most unfortunate that Aregbesola’s well-intentioned intervention in the state school system has now been turned on its head over hijab.
Yet other school of thought argued that the Christians are right, one the Christians are not against hijab wearing in Osun State, but are vehemently against doing so in schools originally founded by Christians, and that is where the nation must listen to them, so said that line of thinking.
The educational programme being implemented in Osun by Aregbesola has two central features which include the re-classification and restructuring of the schools, primarily to separate elementary grades 1-4, the beneficiaries of the school feeding programme, from the rest of the elementary grades, which are then merged with the JSS grades 1-3 to form the Middle school in the re-classification. The SSS grades 1-3 are then constituted into High School in the re-classification.
It was this re-classification that led to the restructuring of schools, which in turn led to the merging of some schools and the building of mega schools to accommodate the merged populations. The Governor indeed ensure that Muslim and Christian schools were not merged. Rather, Muslim schools were merged only with Muslim schools, while Christian ones were merged only with their Christian counterparts.
Baptist High School, Iwo, is the site of one of such mergers, adding on students from four other Christian schools, namely, Baptist Secondary School, United Methodist, St. Mary’s, and St. Anthony’s. The last three of these schools had hijab-wearing female students before the merger. This is the centre of the epic fight and politics of hijab in Osun.
Consequent upon the above scenario and recently too, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) warned that Christian students in public schools will start wearing church garments to school if Governor Rauf Aregbesola goes ahead to implement a judgement by the state High Court legalizing the use of hijab by Muslim students. A statement released by CAN chairman, Elisha Ogundiya, said the decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the association’s executive committee, and heads of Churches.
“Where the Osun State Government is inclined to implementing the judgement Christian students in all public schools founded by Christians with the toil and sweat of our forefathers in the faith will have no choice but to start wearing Christian garments and vestments as part of their school uniform for the propagation of our own faith given the Justice Saka Oyejide Falola declared right of Muslim female students to do same as what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander as well; adherents of other faiths who have their choice to make in this matter can wear theirs as well.”
Secondary school students in Osun State then began to wear church garments to their schools, in a dramatic but defiant protest against the use of Hijab by female Muslim students.
The association has also appealed the court ruling, which amongst many things, it said implied that hijab was a means of propagation of Islam which it stated was a fundamental right of Muslim girls and ladies. This declaration, CAN argued, violates the religious right of the original owners of the missionary schools as agreed upon when the schools were taken over by the then government of Oyo State in 1975. The association also accused the governor, Rauf Aregbesola, of masterminding the judgement which said students could wear hijab in the state.
But according to Mr. Aregbesola, there are other legal options open to any party who feels strongly about the judgment, adding that appeal is the best option in this situation. “It is funny for some people to insinuate that government has a hand in the judgment. The government is a democracy, not a theocracy. Any student found disobeying school rule and regulation risks expulsion from our schools.”
He said it was not the business of any government, through the schools, to lead a child in a particular religious direction. He said it was the duty of parents and religious institutions to lead children in religious direction in private capacity, until they are grown enough to make a decision on religion.
“The government therefore cannot support or be seen to be supporting a particular religion. The government is a democracy, not a theocracy. I believe also that parents and society should complement the government in shaping the minds of the pupils to be receptive to knowledge and godly character formation; to be sensitive to the need of others, the plurality of our society and the imperative of mutual tolerance. They should also be brought up to be team players, even when in a competitive environment. It amounts to subversion of the educational needs of a child for them to be drawn into and used for political purposes,” the Governor argued.
On the other hand, according to Hon. Bola Ilori, an All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain in Osun said, there is no need for the Hijab issue in Osun. He stated that politics of hijab was triggered by those who lost election in the state, adding that 41 students wearing hijab and about 5 students wearing Christian garments should not be much of a problem in a school of about 3,000 students, adding that Osun is a secular state. He further stated that in any public function in Osun, Muslims pray, Christians pray and Traditional worshippers pray also.