Muslim female students in Kenya can now go to school with hijabs as part of the school uniform, the Court of Appeal has ruled on Friday.
According to the Nairobi based newspaper, The Nation, the court directed the education directorate of the country to ensure the creation of new rules on school uniforms and not to discriminate against students based on religion.
The judges ruled that the education department should consider formulating and putting into place regulations, after due consultations, for the better protection of the fundamental right to freedom of religion and belief as well as equality for all pupils and students in Kenya’s education system.
Muslim students were reported to have felt discrimination while their Christian colleagues felt the Muslims were being given preferential treatment.
As a reminder, Friday’s decision was a blow to a petition filed by a church challenging a directive by the Teachers Service Commission and the Isiolo County Education Office to allow Muslim girls to wear hijabs and white trousers in its sponsored schools.
The High Court of the Eastern-African nation in May last year ruled that the directive allowing the wearing of hijab in the school was illegal and discriminatory as it is against the school regulations.