Date Posted: Thursday, August 17, 2006

8/16/2006 6:20:00 PM GMT
Islamic World News

In what is seen as a “landmark case”, a Muslim social worker fired for refusing to take off her hijab has been reinstated by the South African department of correctional services, IOL reported.

Fairouz Adams, 37, will be paid her salary in full from the date of her dismissal and will return to work by the end of this month wearing “civilian clothing” under a settlement reached out of court between the department of correctional services and the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC).

In April 2005, Adams, who works at a Worcester prison in Cape Town, was asked to take off her Hijab in accordance with the prison’s new uniform policy which bans Muslim women from wearing the Islamic headscarf.

Her dismissal has angered Muslim leaders, who insist that she didn’t break the uniform regulations as she wore a scarf in the brown “corporate colors” of her employer and that she did not look "untidy".

The case was taken to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), where it was sent to the Labour Court but settled before it could go to court.

Under the settlement reached out of court, Adams and the MJC will make a presentation to the department of correctional services within six months on how it could amend its dress code, said MJC’s spokesperson, Nabeweya Malick.

Adams is now exempt from wearing the department's uniform until an agreement has been reached on the dress code, she added.

"Landmark case"

"This is a landmark case for the Muslim community in South Africa," Malick said. We hope this case will give Muslim women confidence. We commend the department."

For her part, Adams said that she is “absolutely elated... I hope this will give women the power to stand up for their rights. Muslim women should use their headscarves (as a way of saying) they have rights."

The Islamic headscarf is meant to cover a Muslim woman’s hair, neck, throat and the upper part of her chest to protect her from the eyes of men outside her family.

But the hijab isn’t just about clothing, it is mainly to preserve women’s dignity and honor. In the Qur’an, Allah (SWT) instructs his followers on how to behave towards each other by saying in Surat An-Nur that all Muslim men and women should “lower the gaze”. Therefore, ordering a Muslim woman to remove her hijab is like asking her to ignore one of her key religious obligations.

Also: Brussels’ Muslim Teachers Fired Over Hijab Lose Appeal

-------------------------

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. (See: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.) If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.