Hijab use in Nigeria’s public schools has become highly controversial, in some cases leading to riots, fatalities, the destruction of school property and the closure of schools.
Adeyemi Balogun, a PhD holder in the history of religion with research interests in Muslim culture and Muslim/ Christian relations, sets out why the issue is so contentious, and what can be done to ease tensions.
Some clerics say that, although God instructs women to use the hijab, He did not intend to force them to use it. When Muslims started establishing their own schools from 1896, they also introduced Islamic practices to learning. The second reason is about Muslim-Christian relations. The Christian Association of Nigeria, an umbrella body for Christians, opposed the wearing of hijab by Muslim girls. Its position is that wearing the hijab will lead to the Muslim faith being spread through schools. This argument contends that the use of hijab can encourage some Christian students to embrace Islam. And that the hijab would redefine the identity of the school as a Muslim school rather than a Christian or “secular” school.
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