Students fault hijab ban in some schools
Students from various secondary schools following proceedings during the official opening of the 6th national students leaders' conference held at the Bomas of Kenya on April 14, 2014. PHOTO | JENNIFER MUIRURI
What you need to know:
- Rehema Waqo, who studies in northern Kenya, said the rule could affect national cohesion since they only felt comfortable in Muslim schools
Female Muslim students have criticised some head teachers for banning them from wearing head scarfs and trousers while in school.
They said the rule was making many of them transfer to other schools since their religion does not allow them to leave their heads and legs uncovered.
“The rule puts us at a crossroads. Do we go against our religion and stay in schools or do we leave a very good school that we have been admitted to and transfer to a Muslim school?” posed Rehema Waqo during a student leaders’ conference at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi on Thursday.
NATIONAL COHESION
Waqo, who studies in northern Kenya, said the rule could affect national cohesion since they only felt comfortable in Muslim schools.
“As long as this punitive rule exists, you will find very few female Muslim students in Christian-sponsored schools,” she said.
She accused some head teachers of forcing Muslim students to take Christian Religious Education.
House Committee on Education chairperson Sabina Chege said there was a shortage of Islam Religious Education teachers but she promised to look into it.
