South African military ends hijab ban

South Africa’s military has changed its religious dress policy to allow Muslim women to wear hijabs with their military uniform, according to a rights organisation that had challenged the policy in court.

The Legal Resources Centre said the changes followed discussions with the South Africa National Defence Force (SANDF).

The centre has since filed a notice to withdraw the suit in the Equality Court.

“We will therefore not be pursuing this matter further as the current SANDF policy no longer discriminates against Muslim women in the military,” it tweeted.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?creatorScreenName=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FEddykasapa&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1354386254633328640&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fkasapafmonline.com%2F2021%2F01%2Fsouth-african-military-ends-hijab-ban%2F&siteScreenName=kasapafm&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

UPDATE:

THE LRC HAS BEEN ENGAGED IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THE SANDF, RESULTING IN THE SANDF AMENDING ITS RELIGIOUS DRESS POLICY, TO ALLOW MUSLIM WOMEN TO WEAR THEIR HIJAB WITH THEIR MILITARY UNIFORM. AS SUCH, WE FILED A NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL IN THE EQUALITY COURT. HTTPS://T.CO/HXV1V860SF

— LEGAL RESOURCES CENTRE (@LRC_SOUTHAFRICA) JANUARY 27, 2021

Military spokesman Brigadier-General Mafi Mgobhozi is quoted by the IOL news site as saying: “The Military Religious Dress Policy was updated accordingly which allows a Muslim woman to wear her scarf.”

The development follows a two-year battle by Maj Fatima Isaacs, a Muslim woman, against the dress policy after she was charged with disobeying lawful commands or orders.

BBC