Community members from Mosiya village in Machinga have given Catholic Church authorities a three-week ultimatum to move Mpiri Parish in their area over use of hijab.

The move comes in reaction to the decision by the Catholic Church to prohibit Muslim girls from wearing hijab at its schools.

“The restriction is discriminatory especially when most community members in Mosiya are Muslims,” reads part of the statement.

According to a letter made available to YFM, should the Church fail to comply, the villagers will take unspecified actions.

When commenting on the matter, social commentator Lucky Mbewe has asked government to swiftly act on the issue saying should it remain unchecked it might bring chaos in the country.

About a year ago, there was a similar incident in Balaka were Anglican Church was in dispute with Muslim community over hijab.