AN Islamic newspaper, Muslim News, has declared advocates of hijab right in Nigeria as winners in the Nigerian Muslim Personality of the Year category of its annual awards for the year 2021.
According to the newspaper, Muslim News Nigeria Awards, stylised #MNAwards, celebrates Muslims who have excelled and made the Muslim community proud in Nigeria and globally.
In a statement, the publisher, Alhaji Rasheed Abubakar, said: “This year, we are recognising 12 outstanding Muslim personalities from different organisations and institutions that contributed to the hijab victory at the Supreme Court. They are called ‘the Hijab Vanguards’.
According to him, the hijab victory recorded on June 17, 2022 is the biggest achievement recorded by the Nigerian Muslim community in recent times.
Abubakar said: “Twelve personalities representing different organisations and institutions have been shortlisted as the Hijab Vanguards.
“These include Ms Asiyat AbdulKareem, the molested student who dragged the Lagos State government to court; Mr Hassan Fajimite, the Muslim lawyer who led the Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN), Lagos State chapter, to the final judgment; and Hajiya Basheeerah Majekodunmi, the female president of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos State, who also joined the case and provided moral support.
“Others are Professor Ishaq Lakin Akintola, the director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC); Hajiya Mutiat Orolu-Balogun of the Hijab Rights Advocacy Initiative (HRAI); a former president of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Hajiya Halima Jubril; the president of the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), Alhaji AbdurRahman Balogun, and the editor of the Sunday edition of The Guardian newspaper, Alhaji Kabir Alabi Garba.
“Hon. Saidu Musa Abdullahi, a lawmaker representing Bida/Gbako/Katcha Federal Constituency of Niger State and initiator of Religious Discrimination (Prohibition, Prevention) Bill, 2021 and Hajiya Idayat Asiwaju, the hero of hijab at the School of Nursing, Igando, Lagos, also made the list while the late Habeeb Idris, victim of Kwara State hijab crisis and the late Alhaji Gani Adetola-Kazeem, SAN, who led the battle from inception before he died in 2018, received posthumous awards for their efforts.
This is the first time a group of people who go by the title ‘The Hijab Vanguards’, a title created by the organisers, will be collectively announced the Nigerian Muslim Personality of the Year 2021.
Abubakar, who initiated the awards in 2018, said the 2021 #MNAwards edition marked a departure from the previous editions as it celebrates unsung Muslim achievers in different fields of endeavour, noting that it is dedicated to celebrate the ‘Hijab Vanguards’ in Nigeria.
He, however, clarified that the Global Muslim Personality of the Year award category would remain the same, with outstanding Muslim personalities drawn from various professions from across the world up for celebration.
According to Abubakar, members of the awards committee agreed on the need to recognise a milestone achievement recorded by Muslims on hijab in the Nigerian category.
He said: “It has always been difficult for Muslim students and women to use the hijab in public establishments, especially public schools, in the South-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria.
“Many of them have suffered harassment, molestation and maltreatment. In the worst cases, some were sent out of school just because they chose to use the hijab, in obedience to their Creator, Allah.
“Although the constitution of the country gives freedom to the use of the hijab, some overzealous public officials have continued to harass Muslim students over the hijab, even when the case was in court.
“So many individuals contributed to the struggle against the continued harassment and victimisation of Muslim women over the hijab, which culminated in the victory recorded at the Supreme Court recently, after nearly a decade-long legal battle.
“They did this without resorting to violence. The Hijab Vanguards comprises individuals and organisations who used peaceful means to push for the use of hijab in schools and other public places.
“With their resilience and sacrifice, the Supreme Court of Nigeria had delivered a landmark judgment allowing the use of hijab in public schools in the case of Ms. Asiyat Abdulkareem Vs Lagos State Government.
“We, therefore, see it as fitting to dedicate this year’s edition of the Nigerian Muslim Personality of year Award to the Hijab Vanguards, recognising the efforts of major personalities who had over the years contributed to the hijab struggle in commemoration of this legal victory.”
Abubakar called on the Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to implement the Supreme Court judgment and allow any willing student to freely use the hijab without victimisation.
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