Gambia: women are no longer obliged to wear headscarf

The Gambia has lifted a directive that imposed on female civil servants to wear headscarf during working hours at the beginning of the year.

“This decision is abandoned”, the Gambian president said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the directive requiring the headscarf had “nothing to do with religion.”

“Women are the best friends of (President, Yahya Jammeh, ), they are his sisters and he is here for their well-being in all circumstances. Consequently, this decision that makes them unhappy,has been lifted” .

In December, all the female staff of ministries, government departments and agencies, were no longer allowed to show her hair during official working hours as of December 31, 2015. The order came shortly after President Jammeh declared the country an “Islamic state “ .