Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Gambia Orders Female Workers To Cover Hair At Work

 

I will never understand why people (mostly men) always make a fuss about woman’s hair. From young girls having to cut their hairs at school to women covering their hair in public in largely Islamic countries, I will never understand the need for that.

Now Gambia seems to be taking it further by stating that female workers HAVE to cover their hair at work.

In a leaked government memo, it stated that women should use a “head tie and neatly wrap their hair” while at work. No reason was given for this ban.

It should be noted that Gambia’s president President Yahya Jammeh, declared the Muslim-majority country an Islamic republic. But he also stated that that no dress code would be imposed and citizens of other faiths would be allowed to practise freely.

 

It seems that the “no dress code” does not apply to government workers apparently.

I don’t see the point of this directive. One would think that there were more pressing issues in the country than worrying about women exposing their hair at work. It seems absolutely ridiculous. What does appearance have to do with job performance?!

Since 90% of Gambia’s population is already muslim, I doubt there will be resistance to this ban. That doesn’t mean that this new directive is kind of silly when you really look at the state of the country.