The father of Bushira Ismail, a first-year Muslim student of the Wesley Girls’ High School in Cape Coast, Zakariah Alhassan is accusing the school authorities of preventing his daughter from engaging in any Islamic activity, including the Ramadan fast which is obligatory for every healthy Muslim.
In a Citi News interview, Mr. Alhassan said “two days ago, I had a call from my daughter who revealed to me that she has not been fasting this time round because the school does not allow it. She asked that we come to her rescue. I then came here with her mother the following day. We met the school’s administrators. When the headmistress called to ask if she wants to leave with us, she declined.”
Bushira Ismail told Citi News that though inconvenient, she has accepted the conditions of the school.
“I was told the school is a mission school and operates [on the basis of] uniformity. When I heard the news, I was really worried because I have given myself to Islamic practices for so long, and I did not know how I was going to shelve them while in school. It did not really go down well with me when I was told that I could not partake in the Ramadan fast while in school.”
“But after the headmistress explained the situation to me, I decided to compromise, at least for the time being,” she added.
Bushiru Ismail is one of a number of Muslim girls in Wesley Girls’ High School, who have allegedly been prevented from practising their faith.
Even though the headmistress of the school, Kay Oppong Ankomah, declined to speak to Citi News on the issue, sources in the school say that Muslims are not allowed to practice their faith in the school because Wesley Girls is a mission school.
