Gambia Orders Female Civil Servants To Cover Their Hair At Work

 

Gambia, who was recently declared “an Islamic state” by its president, has ordered all female civil servants in the country to cover their hair at work, a leaked government memo showed.

According to a copy of the memorandum obtained by AFP, “all female staff within the government ministries, departments and agencies are no longer allowed to expose their hair during official working hours effective December 31, 2015.

“Female staff are urged to use head tie and neatly wrap their hair.”

A senior official in the education ministry confirmed that the note had been circulated among government departments.

In December 2015, president of the Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, reportedly declared the country and Islamic State.

“Gambia’s destiny is in the hands of the Almighty Allah… We will be an Islamic state that will respect the rights of the citizens,” he said.

At the time he warned against trying to impose a dress code on women.

“I have not appointed anyone as an Islamic policeman. The way women dress is not your business,” he said.