Muslim lawmakers have tasked Parliament to ensure that Immigration Office and school administrators end the practice of forcing Muslim women to remove their veils, saying the practice violates their religious freedoms.
The call was made by Aisha Kabanda, the Butambala District Woman MP, who cited Chapter 26:31 of the Quran where Allah commands all Muslim believing women to wrap a portion of their heads with exception of their face and not expose any unveiled part of their body to any other person they aren’t related to.
She explained, “The act of coercing Muslim women to unveil derogates, and impels their freedom to practice their religion and as such. This deprives Muslim women the right to practice their religion. These actions are discriminative since other persons who practice other religious practices aren’t forced by the schools or passport offices to remove their clothing. It is this august house that is comprised of people’s representatives to redeem the feelings of Muslim women.”
Kabanda further cited the guidelines for the passport photographs of the international standards guidelines and international civil aviation which are responsible for standardizing travel documents that take covering for religious leaders of the passport permitable so long as the face is shown clearly.
“Islamic faith isn’t decorative or ornamental as may be perceived by officials of the passport office. It has been manifested in different schools across the country that Muslim girls aren’t allowed to adorn head scarfs on ground that such scarfs aren’t part of the school uniform. I pray that Parliament intervenes into this matter restrain the passport office and schools from violating Muslim freedoms of practicing and manifest,” said Kabanda.
Speaker Among also said the same concern was raised by catholic nuns who face similar treatment at passport offices and tasked Government to explain what solutions can be put in practice to ensure the women are allowed to practice their religion.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has asked parliament to give her more time to come up with a report on how the problem of forcing Moslem women to unveil can be solved.
