Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams speaks in the company of Secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association, Suleiman Bulbulia, on location at the Ministry’s conference room.
The Cabinet of Barbados has approved new exemptions, which will allow both females and males to wear their recommended head coverings for religiously mandated purposes when taking official photographs.
The announcement came yesterday from Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams, during a press conference held in the Ministry’s Conference Room at Webster Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael. Abrahams noted that members of the Muslim community as well as Rastafarians here in Barbados have long been pressing for such a move and he stressed the need to remove a number of old rules, regulations and even laws that prove disadvantageous or discriminatory, to certain groups in society.
“I am pleased to advise that effective last week Thursday, the Cabinet of Barbados approved the wearing of head coverings for religiously mandated purposes. Now understand that the standard is that you must not cover your head. That is the general standard and the general law in Barbados. However, if you are a member of a recognised religion in Barbados and your religion mandates that you cover your head or you cover your ears, once you provide proof sufficient to the Chief Immigration Officer that you are of that religious organisation and that religious organisation does have these rules in place, then you will be allowed to take your photograph for your passport,” Minister Abrahams outlined.
He added, “As I said, Cabinet has approved this across the Board, so this is going to be in relation to all official photographs. It makes no sense to do it for passports, but then they require you to uncover your head for your driver’s licence or a national ID photograph. So the position now is, where a religion mandates that either males or females cover their hair for religious reasons, they will be allowed to honour the dictates of their religion, for the taking of their official photographs.”
Abrahams also pointed to the removal of the bio-data page from the Barbados passport, which is no longer necessary. He meanwhile noted that fingerprinting and retina scanning are additional security measures which can be employed, to boost security when it comes to travel.
Meanwhile, Secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association, Suleiman Bulbulia welcomed the long awaited changes, as did President of the Barbados Association of Muslim Ladies, Sakina Bakharia. Bakharia expressed thanks to the Minister for his efforts in bringing about the newly announced exemptions, whilst also outlining some of the challenges which Muslim women have faced, under the former regulations. Chairperson for the Ichirouganaim, Asheba Trotman also welcomed the move and the Minister’s efforts to stamp out discriminatory practices in Barbados.
Chief Immigration Officer Wayne Marshall, who was present, said the new measures would go into immediate effect. (RSM)