Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has stirred controversy after he warned Kenyan Muslim women who do not wear a head covering to find another country to live in.
The CS was speaking at Sir Ali Muslim Club, Park Road, Nairobi, on Tuesday during the launch of the International Quran Competition.
The event was attended by Muslim leaders drawn from key Islamic institutions from the country, internationally renowned Islamic scholars and imams drawn from Nairobi and its environs.
“It is a must for any Muslim woman in Kenya to wear a hijab or scarf. If they do not want, then to look for another country to go to,” said Mr Duale.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale when he attended the launch of International Quran Competition by The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
In 2019, he said the Ministry of Education should take disciplinary action against school headteachers who forced Muslim girls to remove the hijab.
He claimed that Muslim girls faced discrimination because of the religious dressing and asked then-Education CS George Magoha to issue a directive to protect them.
According to Mr Duale, the hijab is a highly valued dress code among Muslims.
Many Muslim women in Kenya already wear the hijab but some, particularly in urban areas, just wear a simple covering over their hair.
The Quran, Islam's holy book, tells Muslim men and women to dress modestly.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
For women, it is generally seen as covering everything except their face, hands and feet when in the presence of men they are not related to.
However, there has been much debate within Islam as to whether this goes far enough, leading to a distinction between the hijab ("covering up" in Arabic) and the niqab (meaning "full veil").
The hijab is typically a scarf that covers the hair and neck, whereas the niqab is a veil for the face that leaves only the eye area clear. It is worn with an accompanying head scarf or an abaya, a full-length robe, and sometimes with a transparent eye veil.
Aden Duale to Kenyan Muslim women: Wear hijab in public or find another country to live
