Woman blames religious bias as gun licence denied
A MUSLIM woman has claimed she is the victim of religious discrimination after her licence for a firearm was refused because she wore a headscarf in her application photo.
Maleeka Sayed said she wants the licensed gun for self-defence as she is mostly at home looking after her children and elderly parents during the day, while her husband is at work.
Sayed, who lives in Benoni, Gauteng, first applied in July last year for a licence. “Twice in the recent past my father was hijacked outside our gate as he went for Salat al-fajr (dawn prayers). If I had my licence I could’ve shot in the air to scare the hijackers away using my gun or my husband’s gun.
“At the beginning, there were delays due to Covid-19. Late last year, I enquired about my application and was told it has not reached 120 working days yet. I enquired early this year, having noted that my application had reached 126 working days on the SAPS system, and was told by Colonel Godi Msindo that my application would be looked at in due course,” said Sayed.
“On January 21, Msindo phoned and said he had a problem with my application picture as I was wearing my headscarf. I tried to explain about my religious beliefs and he said he would try to explain to his supervisors.
“My application was moved to consideration, the last step in the licence approval process, and a few days later refused. On February 8, I phoned Msindo and he said there was nothing wrong with my application/ motivation. However, he said it was most probably rejected because of the headscarf,” said Sayed.
“I am a Muslim woman who has worn a headscarf when applying for my ID card, passport, even for my firearm competency. At none of those times was my headscarf a problem.
“I applied through the company Legally Armed. My husband, cousins and brother in-law used them when they applied for their firearm licences. All were approved.”
Following Msindo’s response, Sayed wrote an email to the manager in the office of the national SAPS commissioner, Brigadier Ali Mathebula, with her complaint. He responded to Sayed: “The complaint is being investigated via SAPS complaints nodal point.”
The SAPS national media centre and Mathebula had not responded by deadline. Sayed has now petitioned President Cyril Ramaphosa.