SHAFAQNA- The South African military has allowed Muslim women to wear Hijab as part of their uniform, an army spokesperson said on Thursday. The South African Defence Force (SANDF) eventually agreed to amend its policy this week and allow all Muslim women to cover their heads while on duty. “The SANDF dress regulation was updated to allow the wearing of headscarves by Muslim (women) according to stipulations in the dress regulations,” Spokesman Mafi Mgobozi told the AFP news agency on Thursday.
Terming it an “important victory”, Maj Fatima Isaacs hailed the move after leading the three-year legal battle for her religious right to wear headscarf beneath her military beret. The change of policy in army dressing occurred after the military dropped the charges against Isaacs for wearing one. As per reports, she had even faced dismissal for “willful defiance and disobeying a lawful command” by refusing to remove the headscarf or ‘Hijab’, Republic World reported.