Senegal's Church 'outraged' At PM Remarks On Headscarf

Senegal's Catholic Church has voiced "outrage" after Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said his government would no longer accept any Muslim headscarf-wearing student being barred from class

Dakar, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Aug, 2024) Senegal's Catholic Church has voiced "outrage" after Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said his government would no longer accept any Muslim headscarf-wearing student being barred from class.

Sonko sparked controversy in the overwhelmingly Muslim West African country, known for its religious tolerance, by last week cautioning schools against any such move.

No school in Senegal officially prohibits the headscarf. But a Dakar Catholic institution five years ago barred more than 20 Muslim high-school students who wore the hijab.

The former French colony's constitution states it is a "secular, democratic and social republic".

"Some things can no longer be tolerated in this country. France constantly talks to us about their lifestyle and their model, but that is theirs," said Sonko, appointed by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye after his election win in March.

"In Senegal, we will no longer allow some schools to ban the headscarf," the prime minister said last Tuesday at an awards ceremony for high-achieving students.

While 90 percent of Senegal's population is Muslim, the headscarf is not as widely worn as in other majority-Muslim countries.

In his remarks, the premier has issued a "clear verdict against (Catholic) schools" that "were judged mercilessly", said the National Council of the Laity, which brings together Catholic organisations, in a statement on Sunday.

The Council "voices its outrage at declarations it deems to be clumsy", it said, highlighting that private Catholic school rules do not stipulate a ban on the Muslim headscarf.

The National Office of Catholic Education recommended that Catholic schools in Dakar "update the rules of our schools to pre-empt any provocation and potential disputes on the issue of the headscarf", pointing out its desire to "promote togetherness".

Education Minister Moustapha Mamba Guirassy said on social media that the prime minister "only gave a reminder about the regulatory framework".

This is based "on the constitution, which advocates secularism and does not distinguish between those who wear a headscarf and those who wear a cross," he added.

Senegal is not new to heated debates over the headscarf.

In 2019, 22 headscarf-wearing students were banned from the renowned Dakar Catholic school Sainte Jeanne-d'Arc Institution after it enforced a rule which said boys and girls should have "uncovered heads".

The students returned after a deal between teachers and the education ministry said that pupils could wear a uniform with a school-issued "scarf of suitable dimensions".