Hijab email sent by ‘tone deaf ’ civil servants prompts uproar

HOME Office staff have been invited to celebrate “World Hijab Day” despite asylum guidance that says that being forced to adhere to religious dress codes is “persecution”.

Civil servants were accused of being “tone deaf ” for the internal message to staff who process asylum applications. Under Home Office guidelines, women can claim asylum on a case-by-case basis based on religious persecution if they are forced into “compliance with religious codes or dress”. The rules also state that for women who have faced the threat of violence “if they failed to observe those [dress code] traditions and state protection was unavailable… refugee status would be appropriate”.

Last month, Roya Heshmati, an Iranian woman, was given 74 lashes for refusing to wear the hijab after defying the Muslim country’s strict dress code. Women must cover their neck and head according to the law in Iran.

The email was sent by the Home Office’s Islamic Network, a voluntary group for Muslim civil servants. It described the hijab as being “brought to women as a way of protection”.

It posed a series of questions about the hijab, including: “Do Muslim men make women wear the hijab?” of which the answer was: “No, many Muslim women choose to wear the hijab for various reasons, and mainly to grow closer

‘This promotion is tone deaf and ignores women who face violence if they refuse to wear the item’

to their faith and Allah.” One whistleblower who received the email said: “I deal with cases of women claiming they cannot go back to Iran otherwise they will be forced into wearing the hijab.” They added: “The Home Office’s promotion of the hijab is tone deaf and completely ignores the many women who face violence if they refuse to wear the item.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born former Dutch politician who says she requires security protection because of her vocal criticism of Islam, said: “It is true that some women choose to wear the hijab, however, it is equally true that many do not and it is forced upon them. The women who are forced to wear the hijab must be protected, and their cases should not be ignored, as this Home Office email seems to have done.”

Ms Hirsi Ali added: “Islamist groups, organised through networks such as this group in the Home Office, are pushing the hijab because they have an agenda. One must ask whether asylum seekers, in particular women, who are fleeing from persecution in Iran and across the Middle East, will get a fair hearing from those in the Home Office who are actively pushing the Islamist agenda on the hijab.”

The email included five quotes from Home Office staff with positive stories around wearing the hijab, before stating the network “understands that not all experiences have been positive”.

The Home Office and the Islamic Network were approached for comment.