Police In Kano Enforce Dress Code, Ban Tricycles From Carrying Different Sexes Together

Islamic Police in Kano have reportedly ordered officers to go hard on tricycle drivers, with orders to arrest those who dress indecently by revealing body parts unnecessarily.
Yahoo! News reports that police also have orders to arrest any cabbie carrying men and women together in the confined space of the three-wheeled taxis.


“The way and manner some of the commercial tricycle operators engage in indecent dressing and carry men and women together is disturbing,” said Yusuf Yola, spokesman for the Hisbah board that is responsible for ensuring compliance with Shariah laws in Kano.

He said such dress, with pants cut off just below the knee like Bermuda shorts, also was “un-Hausa,” referring to the biggest tribe in Nigeria’s north.
Usually it’s women who are the target of the Islamic police checking that they have properly covered their heads and limbs.

Yola told The Associated Press on Monday that 10,000 officers will be deployed to ensure the laws are enforced, including “a law in the state which prohibits gender mix in commercial vehicles.”
He said officers have orders to stop and search to make sure everyone obeys — including Christians.

In Kano on Monday, taxi driver Jamilu mai Babur, a Muslim, was rebellious: “I will not comply with this useless order because Shariah is not about violating human rights.”
Jamilu Hisba, another Muslim driver, agreed but said he would have to obey. “It’s against Islam, this forceful order, but they have power over us so I must comply because this is my means of survival.”