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In a petition signed by the former President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Lepowura Alhaji M.N.D. Jawula with support from other interested parties to the Peace Council, they are asking for an update on the issue of violation of religion of Muslim students at the Wesley Girls' SHS.
In a petition dated September 27, 2021, addressed to the National Peace Council (NPC) and copied to the Minister of Education and 31 other institutions, they demanded an expedited process on the development of subsidiary legislation on school faith practices aimed at addressing the issue of Muslim students being prevented from practicing their faith while in school.
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Wesley SHS students
The petitioners said they are expecting a speedy resolution of the issue after the National Peace Council announced that it was intervening in the matter at Wesley Girls' School earlier in 2021.
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They said "several months down the line, the group says it finds it "worrying and disturbing" that the outcome of the Peace Council's intervention has not been communicated to the public.
"From the discussions that followed, it emerged that the issue at Wesley Girls’ High School was not merely about preventing Muslim students at the School from fasting, but as a matter of fact, the constitutionally guaranteed religious rights of Muslim students are entirely curtailed in the school.
"The Muslim students at the School are not allowed to prepare for and perform their five (5) mandatory daily prayers, hold leadership roles in the school including but not limited to perfect ship, have their religious scripture (the Holy Qur ‘an) with them in the School, exercise their constitutional right to associate with other Muslim students in the School, and take appropriate dresses (such as veils/hijabs) with them for prayers in the school."
"Indeed, Muslim students of Wesley Girls' High School are not merely subjected to gross discrimination at all levels at the School, but they also suffer bullying /targeting by other students/prefects, housemistresses, school chaplains, and teachers. They are also compelled to attend mandatory Christian Church services, a faith they do not subscribe to.
"At the moment, the final year SHS students are writing their final exams, and one cannot imagine the impact the denial of the religious rights of Muslim students in Wesley Girls’ High School is having on the Muslim students at the School. It is our prayer that the above-mentioned regulations and/or legislation would be communicated to the public in the shortest possible time," the petitioners noted.