Audhu billah minas shaytaani rojeem, Bismillah Rahmanir Raheem. All praises, adoration and glorification belongs to Almighty Allah alone. The King of incomparable majesty. I seek the refuge of Allah (SWT) from the evil of my soul and from the deviation of my actions. May He continue to guide us all to the straight path of Islam.
Dear Sisters-in-Islam, I was beseeched to share my experience on the challenges I faced in procuring my driver’s licence from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) office in Ota few weeks back. On the 17th day of September, 2021 which was a Friday, I proceeded to the FRSC office in Ota, Ogun State to capture for the processing of my driver’s licence.
After waiting and following some set of procedures, I was ordered to the Head’s (designation not known) office for signing my documents. The Head/Boss, a woman (name withheld) informed me if I have been told that I will have to drag my hijab backward and expose my ears before capturing is done? I informed her “No” and proceeded to implore her to please let me have the capturing without exposing my ears, as I have done for NIMC and voters’ card without exposing them.
However, she remained adamant citing several cases in which sisters have shown their ears and asking me if they are not muslims. I left her office and called a senior sister-in-faith whom I have known for decades and has been driving for years. I inquired if her ears were shown when processing her own licence. She sent me a copy of her licence via whatsapp and her ears were not exposed. She encouraged me to go back to the woman, educate her and persuade her that exposure of ears is not a criteria for biometric capturing globally for anyone observing the hijab.
I went back to the woman and did as directed. She insisted further on her point saying that is the rule of FRSC and volunteers to capture me herself by excusing the males in the computer room. “This makes no difference as I will have to take the ID card up and down with my ears exposed, a contradiction of who I am physically”, I explained to her.
I left her office feeling dejected and confused and for the first time in life, I regretted being a citizen of Nigeria, due to this and some other reasons. I got home, explained myself to my husband who encouraged me to lodge a complaint to the FRSC headquarter through their website. A mail was sent but till date, a response was never made.
During the week that follows, my senior sister-in-faith called me asking how far about the issue. I told her blankly I’m no longer interested in the licence procurement as it is not a necessity. She encouraged me to call a sister in the person of Barrister Mutiat Orolu, being an advocate for hijab rights. Fortunately, I have her contact. I called her and she sent me a document (an internal memo of FRSC) stating explicitly that exposure of ears is not necessary when capturing for a muslim female using hijab. What is needed is her full face with forehead showing without the ears.
The following week, I submitted the document to the FRSC office in conjuction with photocopy of my NIMC and voters’ card. One of the officials received the document and I informed her to sign for accepting the document as I didn’t meet their boss in office.
Two weeks later, I checked on them to know what is happening and to my disbelief, I was asked to join the queue for those about to capture and the capturing was done without any exposure of ears, I was delighted as well surprised that I could do the capturing without much ado. I had thought I will meet with an objection that day as usual and then call Barrister for me to know the next line of action, which I perceive will be to fight for one’s right legally.
Alhamdulillah, this is my story. As said in Q12 Vs 53 “And I do not absolve myself of blame. Surely every soul is prone to evil, except with the mercy of my Lord. Surely, my Lord is oft-forgiving, most merciful”.
I am writing this to encourage sisters to stand their feet, be firm, be resilient and adamant when it comes to the issue of exposing ears before capturing for any document. Let us remember that whenever we succumb to such issue, we are creating problem/obstacles for other muslim sisters and generations to come who will still have to follow that same path. Some people strive for the usage of hijab and that is why we are able to use it today. It wasn’t easy then too. Let’s all work hands together to give the hijab the utmost right it deserves. May Allah SWT make our path easy and reward us all with Jannatul Firdaos (aamin).
Mrs K. B YUSUF.
15 October 2021.
