Issue No. 268

Education Denied: The Hijab Ban in Tigray
 

Last week, peaceful demonstrations were staged in Mekelle, protesting the unconstitutional denial of education to hijab-wearing girls in several schools in Axum, Tigray. Organised by the Tigray Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, thousands of people remonstrated with the divided regional administration, urging them to uphold freedom of religion as enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution. However, though a court has ordered the schools to reverse their decision, it appears that over 100 girls are still being denied their right to education.

While Muslims reaped the benefits of the introduction of a more secular and expansive education in the 1990s, hijab bans and restrictions have persisted in some schools and universities. It is far rarer in other domains and is rarely enforced in hotels or restaurants, for instance. The most sizeable religious minority in the country, Muslims make up around a third of the population, comprising most of the Afar and Somali communities, as well as half of the Oromos in Ethiopia. In Tigray, the population is far smaller despite having ancient origins in the region, with around 4% estimated to be Muslim in the 2007 census. Today, it is estimated to be slightly higher, perhaps between 5-10%. But there are significant differences in the socio-economic circumstances of these Muslim communities, ranging from pastoralist Somalis to urban Tigrayans.

It is Tigray, though, that has the deepest Islamic roots, dating back to around 615 AD when companions of the Prophet Muhammed travelled to Axum for sanctuary. There is a proud history of peaceful co-existence between the Christian majority and Muslim minority populations in the city, with the Axumites offering protection to the persecuted and the region referred to as the 'Realm of Neutrality/Protection' (dâr al-hiyâd). An Abyssinian slave named Bilal is also referred to in the Muslim tradition as being among the earliest followers of Muhammed and was selected to give the first call to prayer in Medina. Moreover, Ethiopia's northern region is also home to some of the finest and earliest mosques and Islamic artefacts, including the 7th-century Al-Nejashi mosque-- named after the Axumite ruler Najashi. Tragically, during the Tigray war, parts of the mosque's dome were caved in by artillery, and dozens of Tigrayans were killed by invading forces as they looted precious manuscripts and other items.

Though the Islamic origins in Axum are profound, the city's religious significance for the Orthodox Church has nevertheless likely partially motivated the school's hijab ban. Some have suggested that it is the Tigray Orthodox Church that has quietly stoked the prohibition. For Orthodox Christians, Axum is home to the Queen of Sheba and the Ark of the Covenant, which contains the 10 Commandments. Despite the famed co-existence of the 7th century, there is also a sporadic history in Axum of authorities denying Muslims freedom of expression and religion. 

Believers have long been prohibited from constructing mosques or burial sites in Axum, particularly during Ethiopia's imperial era. The reign of Emperor Haile Selassie was especially harsh, limiting the rights of Muslims to practice their religion freely as well as engage in Ethiopia's politics. The dominance of the state religion Orthodox Christianity across public life and schooling was absolute, and campaigns were undertaken by Selassie's administration to forcibly convert Muslims to Orthodox Christianity. The emperor, deposed in 1974, was reported to have once said that "Axum will not allow a mosque while there is no church in Mecca." Prior to the 2020-2022 Tigray war, another argument erupted over the building of a mosque in the city-- though there were several temporary mosques, many Muslims were forced to pray outside.

Simultaneously, the wearing of the hijab in Ethiopia has also grown in popularity since the Ethiopian People's Democratic Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) took power in 1991. Disenfranchised under Selassie and the secular Derg regime, young Ethiopian Muslims have increasingly expressed and exercised their identities since the 1990s. Meanwhile, Salafism and other international Islamic strains and movements have made inroads into Ethiopia's myriad Muslim communities. But the 'developmental state' also benefited many Muslims, reaping the rewards of state-driven investments in social infrastructure. Mosques have since been erected across the country, and veiling become more commonplace, though this has led to some friction with Orthodox and Protestant Christians who perceive the more assertive Muslim identities as one of Islamic extremism.

The 'Global War on Terror,' however, marked a particular downturn between the Ethiopian state and Muslims, with Addis a major beneficiary of US aid as it sought to quash domestic and regional Islamic extremism-- both real and perceived. The 2009 now-replaced Anti-Terrorism Proclamation was repeatedly invoked to arrest numerous Muslim leaders, activists, and journalists, particularly from the Oromo. The federal government also sought to coerce Islamic practice and install Addis-friendly leaders. In turn, significant protests were staged in 2012-2013– often known as 'Dimtsachen Yesima' (hear our voices), as Muslims called for a return to freedom of religion. In many places, though, the securitisation of the relationship between the government and peripheral Muslim communities has not faded with the rise of Al-Shabaab.

Different strains of religiosity have further intensified since Abiy Ahmed assumed office in 2018. For instance, elements of the disparate Fano insurgent groups in Amhara have explicitly couched their actions in Orthodox Christian rhetoric and symbols as part of their Amhara nationalism. Some Orthodox Christian leaders have also voiced support for the movement, particularly during the clashes between the federal government and the Church in early 2023. There has been an explosion in the growth of the Orthodox reform movement, the Mahibere Kidusan, and PM Abiy Ahmed has explicitly couched his leadership in 'Prosperity' theology.  

With the increasing exercising of religious identity-- not just by Muslims but Orthodox Christians and Protestants as well-- religious tensions have grown in turn. The ethnic violence that continues to roil the country, particularly in Oromia and Amhara, has often incorporated a religious dimension. And it is not uncommon to hear Christian leaders assert today, often wrongly, that Saudi Arabia has discreetly funded the rise in mosques and madrasas. There have also been increasingly disturbing instances of attacks targeting Muslims and other religious believers, such as the 2022 attacks that killed over 20 Muslims in Gondar.

In Tigray, the hijab ban is a violation of both federal and regional directives, with the regional Education Bureau explicitly permitting the wearing of hijabs in schools. Though the Bureau has condemned the 5 schools for refusing to allow hijab-wearing, the Tigray Islamic Affairs Supreme Council has also criticised the body for not actively tackling the issue. The still-deepening schism within and between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Tigray Interim Administration is surely not helping, distracting from the governance of the region. But the banning of girls wearing hijabs from their education in Tigray-- a region where education infrastructure has been devastated by war-- is straightforward discrimination. Wearing a headscarf has no impact on their ability to learn, and many Orthodox Tigrayan women wear the netela anyway, a white headscarf in Axum and do not face similar disadvantages. With Ethiopia's and Tigray's education systems in dire straights, any attendance at school should be celebrated-- not restricted.