The ban on niqab in Ethiopian schools appears to have been lifted after months of a protracted row.
Niqab is the full face veil worn by Muslim women in public.
The Addis Ababa Islamic Affairs Supreme Council over the weekend said an agreement has been reached allowing Muslim students, who had been suspended from four secondary schools for wearing religious attire, to return to their studies.
This decision follows a wave of public disaffection regarding the treatment of these students, who were barred from entering schools for wearing the niqab—a face-covering garment worn by some Muslim women.
In a statement on Thursday, the council disclosed that, “an agreement has been reached to reinstate these students and ensure they can continue their studies peacefully.”
The council reported that talks had been held with city officials to address the recurring challenges Muslim students face regarding dress code regulations.
Previously, the council reported that students faced “pressure and harassment” in certain schools because of their attire.
It condemned the actions of school authorities, labeling them as “irresponsible” and questioning the legal basis for such attire-based restrictions.
The council asserted that these restrictions “lack legal backing” and warned that they disrupt students’ education while fostering “tension between the Muslim community and the government.”
In a parliamentary session yon Thursday, an MP named by Kamil Shemsu raised these concerns with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, noting that “certain institutions seem to be undermining the government’s commitment to participation and inclusivity.”
Ethiopia in September 2023 passed a law regulating dress codes in schools, allowing students the option of covering their hair while in school compounds but made it clear that they cannot cover their faces with the niqab.
This had caused an uproar among Muslims in Ethiopia who constitute 35 percent of the country’s population.
The East African nation is a Christian-majority country with a tradition of tolerance for other faiths including Islam whose early adherents had sought refuge in Ethiopia when persecuted in Arabia as Prophet Mohammed began his proselytizing.
The country by then known to the Arab world as Abbysinia entered Islamic folklores as a haven of the Muslim faith despite its position as the main bastion of Christendom in Africa.
MG/as/APA