ACSA responds to allegations of religious profiling of Muslim women at SA airports

Radio Islam

Recently, South African Muslim women wearing the hijab have complained about unfair treatment by OR Tambo Airport security members, with more than 300 persons related their experiences. Besides media reports detailing the grievances of aggrieved individuals, social media is buzzing with posts describing humiliating searches based on targeted profiling. These reports, which include complaints of full body searches and the request to remove the headscarf, have sparked outrage and fuelled the perception of unfair harassment experienced by Muslim travellers. It has prompted the question: "Is it fair to claim that OR Tambo International Airport (ORT) in Johannesburg is attaining notoriety as South Africa's leading institution where Islamophobia is rampant?" It also prompted the National Freedom Party (NFP) to condemn the reports swiftly and saw them call for an urgent investigation into ORT's security policy. The United Ulema Council of South Africa and the Muslim Judicial Council have met with representatives from ACSA to discuss the issues. Today Radio Islam International held a panel discussion with Airports Company of South Africa's Group Executive: Enterprise Security and Compliance, General Mzwandile Petros and Jabulani Khambule, Regional General Manager for ACSA, to provide clarity on the issues raised.