Blantyre - An ongoing dispute over the hijab - a scarf worn by
Muslim women and girls - took a violent turn in eastern Malawi
leaving three people injured and property damaged, police confirmed
on Tuesday.
"Windows at a mosque and the local priest's home were smashed and
three people were hurt during the incident," regional police
spokesman Joseph Sauka told dpa.
The clashes - between members of the Anglican church and their Muslim
counterparts - erupted on Monday after young men, reportedly from the
church, snatched hijabs off the heads of pupils on their way to
school in M'manga, about 100 kilometres from the city of Blantyre, he
said.
Parish priest Mphatso Bango told dpa that he was living in fear.
"I did not sleep at home as the people destroyed windows of my
house," he said, adding that the tense situation was not normal and
schools would remain shut.
An ongoing dispute over the hijab took a violent turn in eastern Malawi leaving three people injured and property damaged. Video: Zodidi Dano /African News Agency.
At the end of last month, classes were suspended at three primary
schools and a public secondary school in the area after the church
disagreed that girls could wear the hijab to school.
Bango said that when the Anglican church constructed the schools and
gave them to the government, a set uniform was agreed on.
However, the National Taskforce on Hijab spokesman Abdul Fadweck told
dpa that the two parties had concurred over the weekend that Muslim
girls could wear the headscarf until a long-term solution had been
found.
Principal secretary for the education ministry, Justin Saidi, said in
a statement that while generally there are no conditions attached to
the handover of these schools to government, they had referred the
"important" matter to a special committee.