By: Akua Oteng Amponsah
The Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Shamima Muslim is urging Ghanaians to remain calm and engage in respectful dialogue as discussions intensify over religious freedoms in mission-based secondary schools.
She cautions that escalating tensions could undermine efforts to find practical solutions.
Her call for restraint follows a recent directive from the Supreme Court, which instructed Wesley Girls’ Senior High School to formally respond to a lawsuit from private lawyer Shafic Osman. Osman argues that the school has restricted Muslim students from observing elements of their religious practice.
Reflecting on her own time as a Muslim student at Holy Child School, Shamima Muslim highlighted how institutional change is achievable when schools are willing to adapt.
In a Facebook post published on Wednesday, November 26, she wrote, “We can be authentic and still be progressive. When I first got to Holy Child School in 1995, I was told the school schedule wouldn’t allow me to pray. I prayed anyway. And I attended all compulsory Mass and participated in many school activities.”
She noted that the atmosphere at the school has since become far more inclusive, pointing out that “Years later, my cousin became the first ever Muslim Head Girl Raahat Moomen.
Today, Holy Child has a Muslim Teacher Patron for the Muslim girls. No, there are no five times daily congregational prayers, but they pray. And they fast during Ramadan.”
However, she expressed unease about the rising polarization in public conversations about the Wesley Girls’ case. According to her, “The tone of the current debate is worrying. We must all recognise that no one wins if we don’t allow cool heads to prevail in this matter and choose confrontation instead of dialogue.”
Reinforcing the need for unity, she reminded citizens that “we are first and foremost Ghanaians before anything else.”
Shamima also praised schools that have independently taken steps to meet the needs of diverse student populations, adding, “To Holy Child School and many others who, on their own, have recognised the needs of all members of their community keep it up. Educating all citizens secures all of us ultimately.”
