Members of the Coalition of Nigerian Muslim Women made a call for perception and notions surrounding women wearing hijab to be abolished during a courtesy visit to the Media Trust Limited Office in Abuja today to mark World Hijab Day on Thursday, February 1st.

Mrs. Salamatu Abubakar, who led the delegation said, “This year’s World Hijab Day is the fifth commemoration of the event in Nigeria. The day is set aside to create awareness of the Muslim woman’s dress and what it stands for in a bid to promote a more harmonious world where global citizens respect each other devoid of bigotry, prejudice and discrimination.”

She also called for advocacy for the faith and what the hijab is about, for women to be given the freedom to express themselves as Muslim women regardless of their professions or careers and be given the right to practice religion without harassment, embarrassment and profiling.

“We use the occasion of this WHD to advocate a general review of the dress code in all professions where uniforms or specific designs are used such that female Muslims in such professions can wear suitable hijab without discrimination, condemnation or denial of their right,” She expressed.

On a concluding note, the delegation urged the Nigerian Bar Association to call their sister and colleague, Firdaus Amasa to the bar to practice her profession without discrimination whatsoever and also for Nigerians and governmental establishments to accept the hijab and respect Muslim women for who they are instead of what they are.

+19