Female operatives and officers in the South African military are now allowed to wear headscarves as part of their uniform.
Wearing of headscarf in the South African military was before now seen as a defiance of the military rule.
The spokesperson of the country’s army, Mafi Mgobozi, says it has amended its dress policy to allow Muslim women to wear headscarves as part of their uniform in the bid to amend its dressing policy.
The amended policy now allows Muslim women to wear headscarves as part of their uniform.
Last year, a military court dropped charges against an officer, Major Fatima Isaac’s, who had been indicted for wearing a hijab under her military beret.
Isaacs was criminally charged in June 2018 with willful defiance and failing to obey lawful instructions after her superior asked her to remove her headscarf when in uniform.
A military court at the Castle of Good Hope near Cape Town withdrew all charges in January 2020, making an exception for Isaacs to wear a tight black wrap on her head on duty as long as it did not cover her ears.
But the military did not amend its dress policy, prompting Isaacs to mount a challenge in South Africa’s equality court over regulations restricting religious wear.
The South African Defence Force (SANDF) eventually agreed to amend its policy this week and allow all Muslim women to cover their heads while on duty.
“The SANDF dress regulation was updated to allow the wearing of headscarves by Muslim (women) according to stipulations in the dress regulations,” the spokesman said.
The South Africa-based Legal Resources Centre, which represented Isaac’s, welcomed the decision via Twitter said it was withdrawing the equality court case.
