Nigeria’s Kano state moves to ban mannequin heads on Islamic grounds

The Islamic police force in Kano, a Muslim-majority state in Nigeria, has raised eyebrows after it ordered shops to only use headless mannequins to advertise clothing.

“Islam frowns on idolatry,” Haruna Ibn-Sina, the commander of the Sharia police known as the hisbah, told the BBC.”With the head on it looks like a human being,” he added.

Mr Ibn-Sina also wants the headless mannequins covered at all times because to show “the shape of the breast, the shape of the bottom, is contrary to the teachings of Sharia [Islamic law]”.

Kano is one of 12 states in the Muslim-majority north that practise Islamic law. The legal system is supposed to apply only to Muslims. But in reality, non-Muslims come under pressure to adhere to the hisbah’s rulings, including the ban on full-bodied mannequins.