O.R. Tambo Airport asks Muslim women to remove hijab at airport

A group of Muslim women travelling from Johannesburg to Cape Town have raised complaints that they were treated unfairly by security due to the hijab they were wearing. 

A group of Muslim women travelling from Johannesburg to Cape Town have raised complaints that they were treated unfairly by security due to the hijab they were wearing. One of the women told The Daily Vox she was asked to remove her hijab by security just before boarding her flight. The group of students was in Johannesburg for a Muslim Students Association (MSA) policy retreat.

Khadeejah Kaffoor, a student and regional MSA chairperson was asked to remove her hijab.

Kaffoor said she was told by the security supervisor that the company, Airport Company South Africa (ACSA) “respects diversity and that all travelers passing are asked to remove their headgear, not necessarily Muslims.” Kaffoor said when they told the supervisor that she was the only one of the women asked to remove their hijab, the supervisor said: “an option was supposed to be given – to either remove or touch.”

However, Kaffoor says she was not given that option. 

“This then highlighted that they are then not implementing their protocols and it’s a big issue requiring discipline,” said Khaffoor. She adds that while her group was addressing the issue with the supervisor, two more Muslim women were removing their hijab.