Kenya High fights to block suit seeking to allow hijab

By Judy ogutu

Kenya High School is putting up a spirited fight to have an application seeking to compel it to allow a Muslim student to wear Hijab rejected.

The school has asked High Court Judge Justice Daniel Musinga to quash the student’s application.

The girl has named the head teacher and Board of Governors as respondents in the case.

Through her advocate Omwanza Ombati, the Form Three student is seeking orders to compel the school to allow Muslim girls to wear the headscarf.

She claims the school has deliberately refused to allow Muslim girls to wear the Hijab, while attending school, which is in contravention to Ministry of Education policies.

In response, the head teacher, Rosemary C Saina said allowing the application will make Muslim girls look different, conspicuous, special, favoured and thus attract unprecedented and undesirable disruptive attention from school community.

An educationalist, Eddah Gachukia has also filed an affidavit stressing the importance of school uniforms, saying such a dressing code enhances uniformity, equality and social integration of students across class, cultural, racial and political and religious lines.

She says school rules and regulations on dressing code are made in good faith, in public interest and for preservation of good order, discipline, peace and tranquillity.

School uniform

"If every religious sect is allowed a dress code or addition of clothing attire which is unique to that religion the commonness created by school uniform shall cease and groups of students professing the same sect shall dress in similar manner thereby disintegrating the uniform dress code," says Dr Gachukia.

Parents Teachers Association chairman Samuel Gitonga Mutungi said prior to 2009, parents of Muslim students had never raised the issue.

He argues, "It would be grossly unsafe to unnecessarily overhaul and revolutionise the school’s dress code at the instance of unpredictable whims of any student as evidently proposed in the application herein."

The respondents, who are represented by Mr Fred Ngatia, said the application will be counterproductive to the learning environment as it will enable them to isolate, discriminate and distinguish themselves from the rest of the student community.

The respondents also argue that disguised examination cheats, impersonators and other fraudsters are likely to abuse the avenue and pose an added security threat to all students.

The applicants, they argue, have accepted to abide by the school rules and guidelines on uniform, dressing while fully aware of their professed conviction to don hijabs at all times.