Source: On Islam
A cross-section of Malawi Muslim community has been pushing for enactment of laws to protect hijabi Muslim women who are said to be victimized in public and work places in the southern African country.

"There have been reported cases of worst forms of victimization and harassment towards veiled Muslim women in public and work places, because there are no laws to protect us, the perpetrators go scot free, while their victims continue to suffer in silence," Fatima Ndaila, National Chairperson of Muslim Women Organization (MWO), told OnIslam.net.

"It is for this reason that we are rising up to advocate for laws to protect us. Why should it be easy to harass veiled women?

Hijab: What's It All About?

Hijab Fights Malawi Sexual Harassment

"Veiled Muslim women are going through various forms of victimization. We are being looked upon as very backward and primitive. Even during interviews for employment, they are forced to remove the Hijab. This is a mockery to our religion," Ndaila added.

"We don't understand why this is happening in this way. It's against this background that we are urging the authorities to listen to our pleas to put in place laws which would at least protect and give us freedom. This is so inhuman, we are crying to those who matter to come to our rescue."

Ndaila said some heads of education institutions don't allow school Muslim girls to put on Hijab while at school campus.

"And in public places, veiled Muslim women are ridiculed and scorned. We feel there could be something in place to protect us, we should be free to dress the way our religion dictates us to do. Why should we be victimized because of a hijab? What's in a hijab that attracts this level of scorn and victimization?"

Aisha Mambo, the country's only Muslim woman legislator, while concurring with Ndala on the level of victimization veiled Muslim women were experiencing, said it would be a "tall order" to enact a piece of legislation in this regard, because Muslims were under represented both in the legislative assembly and in the executive.

"It is indeed true that a hijab is becoming a source of discomfort to most Muslim women in Malawi, because some sections of the society are using it as a weapon to harass Muslim women. A piece of legislation would Indeed be a deterrent, but I don't see it materializing, because the number of Muslims in the National Assembly, where laws are made is very low and even in the executive Muslims are underrepresented.

"It would be a tall order for us to succeed in this direction. What we need to do is to increase the number of Muslims in places where laws are made and implemented. And at the same time, we need to mobilize Malawians of other faith beliefs to support us; otherwise we can't succeed on our own," Mambo told OnIslam.net.

Support

Various sectors of the Malawi society have thrown their weight behind the advocacy f the legislative measures.

Dr. Salmin Omar, secretary general of the country's supreme Muslim body, ULAMA Council of Malaw,i said it's against rules of natural justice for a group of people to be victimized on the basis of their religious beliefs.

"Sometimes in the 90s, a hijab could cause controversy. It's being misunderstood by the Christian community. But now we thought, we have been accepted by the whole society. It's very unfortunate that there are still some people who are still not comfortable with it. As ULAMA Council, we are in support of laws to protect our women from any form of victimization. We can't allow this to continue in a free society, like Malawi" Omar told OnIslam.net

"We will not rest, until our women are very free from any form of victimization. We can't let this to continue happening. We might be in a minority, but we deserve to be treated as human beings. We are all equal before God," he added.

Renowned women's rights activist, Emma Kaliya, while denouncing the level of victimization, appealed to all sectors of the Malawi society to join hands in supporting laws to safeguard the rights of veiled Muslim women.

"This is a human rights issue. It's not about religion. How do we sit idle, while another group of women is being hunted down? What's in a hijab that makes other people not to be comfortable? Why should we behave like wild animals? We are in support of all attempts to ensure that Muslim women are fully protected," Kaliya told OnIslam.net.

"We pride ourselves to be a God fearing nation. But I wonder why we fail to respect the beliefs of other people. How do we claim to fear God if we victimize others who are following the beliefs of their religion. In a plural society like ours , where there are diverse religions , no single religion is above the other , therefore to victimize a certain group for what they believe in is against values of democracy," said Kaliya.

Meanwhile, the Malawi government has since condemned the victimization describing it as "clear violation" of freedom of worship.

Minister of Gender, Disability, Community Services and Children's Welfare, Patricia Laliati, said even before any law was put in place; there was need for an effective mechanism which would provide protection towards veiled Muslim women.

"What's happening, whether it's out of ignorance or intentional, it's a clear violation of human rights and freedom of worship. As a government, we are surprised that this is the case, but before any law was put in place, there was need as a nation to come together and work on any mechanisms which could protect veiled Muslim women," Kaliati told OnIslam.net.

"As a nation, we need to mature with time and learn to exercise a spirit of tolerance towards other religions and co-exist peacefully, if we are to build a peaceful and better nation, where all Malawians will be free to worship God in their own way."

Since the country reverted to plural politics in 1993 and when Bakili Muluzi rose above the barriers of religion to become Malawi's first Muslim president, the hijab has become a common feature among Muslim women.

Islam is the second largest religion in Malawi after Christianity. Muslim account for 36% of the country's 15 million population.

• Malawi