THE HIJAB BAN Part 1: PAP Expelling Our Daughters from School
Transcript:
Many do not realise that the PAP government bans the hijab in school.
I started working on this issue in 1999. The Islamic Religious Teachers Association (PERGAS) had asked me to help them lobby to save the Islamic schools. There are 6 madrasahs in Singapura, and the PAP government wanted to shut down 5. Alhamdulillah, for the most part, we were able to save the madrasah.
It was during this time that I was approached by a family for help. Their 14-year-old daughter had reached puberty and wanted to wear the hijab to school. The request was rejected, and she had to leave school and enrol in adult night school.
Along with a group of friends, I started a group called Fateha, dedicated to defending the right of hijabis to receive education. I consulted several asatizah and ulama in Singapura. Allahyarham Ustadz Zhulkeflee Ismail, Ustadz Abu Bakar Hashim, Ustadz Pasuni, and several others encouraged us to take it up.
In 2002, four more families reached out to us.
Nurul Nasihah is too young to really understand what was going on.
She knows she was starting primary school and she knows it came to an abrupt end. Now her classroom is home and her parents (are) her teachers.
On the first day of the school year, Nurul was one of four six-year-old girls who defied the law and came to school in their Muslim headscarf. It might not seem like a radical thing to do, but this was the most potent act of civil disobedience that Singapura has seen in years.
On their third day at school, in full view of the media, all four girls were suspended.
_Video clip by Journeyman.tv
When I was approached by the families, I immediately called and met with Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, who was the Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs then.
He told me his hands were tied. He could not help.
I informed him that we may need to go to court to get judicial review. Yaacob told me it would be expensive. I said we would get support from the Muslim community.
A few days later, the PAP government launched their media attacks on me. It was a massive pile-on. Newspapers, TV, radio, Ministers, MPs, Malay organisations were all used to attack my character.
Alhamdulillah, while the PAP had planned to discredit me so that I could not launch the legal challenge, their attacks gave me an opportunity to discuss the hijab ban.
“This issue is not about headscarves, this issue is not about politics, it’s not even really about religion. This is about respect. This is about respecting the values of others.”
Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff is Singpura’s most prominent Islamic activist. He runs a website Fateha.com where Singapura’s Muslims log on to discuss issues important to them. On the site, Zulfikar has taken up the parent’s cause with a passion.
_Video clip by Journeyman.tv
Insha Allah, in the next video, I will discuss what happened when we attempted to seek judicial review.
#meritocracy #singapore #islam #malay
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