The usual trouble with the hijab, this time in Malawi. From the Nyasa Times
Muslims in the country who constitute about 35% of the country's 12 million population have threatened to boycott the on-going registration exercise for the May 19 General Elections if registration clerks continue forcing Muslim women to remove headscarfs during the registration.
The threat follows reports from across the country that Muslim women are being forced to remove the headscarfs, if they are to register.
In several centers, according to officials at the electoral body, some Muslim women have on their own boycotted the exercise, after being forced to remove the headscarfs, commonly known as "hijab" within the Muslim community.
Islamic Information Bureau National Coordinator, Sheikh Dinala Chabulika confirmed the development, saying in most centres several women who have refused to remove the "hijab", have been returned.
Chabulika said the organization has since taken up the matter with the Malawi Electoral Commission.
Meanwhile, MEC has said the matter has been discussed and all clerks have been asked to let all Muslim women register “as long as they only remove the headscarf from the face."
A lot of the comments are not in English, or only in part. There are comments from some outraged Muslims. There are comments from Malawi citizens who dispute that the Muslim population of Malawi is as high as 35%. They say less than 20%. There is also a great deal of concern that the concealment of hijab has been used before, and will be used again, to enable Muslims to register multiple votes.