'Don't fast and you won't faint'

2007-09-17 23:04

Erika Gibson

Pretoria - There has been a furore at a Western Cape Air Force base, where a Muslim soldier who asked to be excused from a parade because of the fast of Ramadan was allegedly told by the Air Force that she had to take part.

A letter of objection was sent to the Air Force by the South African National Defence Force Union (Sandfu) on Monday morning, after a chaplain allegedly told the Muslim woman soldier that if she was afraid of fainting on parade, she should perhaps stop fasting.

According to the union the soldier was withdrawn from the parade after the Chaplain Service intervened on Monday afternoon.

The soldier, who is stationed at the Overberg Air Force base in the Western Cape, was to have been included in group drilling exercises this week, to prepare for and take part in a parade at the Ysterplaat Air Force base in Cape Town.

She sought permission beforehand to be excused because she was afraid that during the period of fasting, she could faint on parade, become dehydrated, or that her health could be affected by strenuous physical activity.

As a Muslim she may not eat or drink between dawn and sunset during Ramadan. She would therefore not have been able to drink water, even if her group drilled for hours in the sun.

Advocate Pikkie Greeff of SANDFU said her request was turned down despite a social worker's recommendation that her request should be looked upon favourably.

The request was denied as there was apparently not enough proof that the parade would be detrimental to her health.

The letter of objection from SANDFU's legal department stated that forced participation in the parade not only discriminated against this soldier, but all Muslim soldiers.

It was not that the soldiers were refusing to do their work, but they wanted to be excused from the additional duty (of taking part in the parade).

- Beeld