The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC SA) has lambasted proposed measures on the contested Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill. This comes as oral submissions will continue this week. Several civil society and education groups have reiterated the concerns around the amendments impact on education and society. Among modifications purported by the bill is the introduction of uni-sex bathrooms, gender-neutral uniforms, “Deadnaming” will also be outlawed, and educators will avoid gender-segregating pupils by splitting classes, lines or groups into “boys and girls”.
According to the MJC SA, they remain committed to the ideals of mainstream orthodox Islam while practicing respect to differing opinions. However, it calls the LGBTQ narrative a violation of rights against Muslims and all other religious denominations.
“The reality for Muslims living in South Africa is that we too, are a minority community, entrenched in our history of our country and if we are not going to be vocal, if we are not going to put forward to our government our ideals and our religious observances, we will be left behind and will be subjugated to an unpleasant and untenable existence,” read the statement released by the MJC.
They have further encouraged parents to voice their concerns and contest the issue with vigor.
However, government has maintained that the changes seek to align certain acts “with developments in the education landscape” and to ensure that systems of learning adhere to the constitution. The public can watch the hybrid sessions on Parliament’s social media platforms or Parliament TV (DStv Channel 408).
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