As a fuel import embargo has been in place in Mali for a month and a half, with near-daily attacks causing a severe gasoline shortage in the country, the JNIM, linked to al-Qaeda, issued demands for travelers on Friday, October 17. The jihadists notably want to impose the wearing of the veil for women in transport, an announcement that is provoking varied reactions among the population.
The jihadists are reaching a new level in the demands they intend to impose on the Malian people. Bus companies are being ordered by JNIM to enforce the new rule: from now on, women traveling on Mali’s roads must wear the veil. “No, the jihadists cannot make me change,” asserts a resident of Bamako forcefully. “They cannot change my habits!”.
“God is greater than the jihadists”
A clothing seller, she travels frequently for her business. She explains that she is a believer but only wears the veil for prayer, never outside. And the new rules issued by JNIM apparently do not intimidate her. “If the army had really protected us, would we be in this situation?” she asks. “But I am not afraid: God is greater than the jihadists. I am not afraid and I will not wear the veil.”
“Obligated to do it”
Yet, the risk is great. Like many others, this head of household believes he doesn’t really have a choice. “I am very afraid,” he confides. “If they tell us we have to do this, we are obligated to do it.”
And if tomorrow this man had to travel with his wife, he wouldn’t really question it: “I would be obligated to tell her to put on the veil. The government does not have the means to protect us,” he laments. “And if it cannot protect us, I am obligated to accept the terrorists’ demands and ask my wife to dress with that.” He concludes with anger, sadness, and resignation: “I don’t like it, but we have no choice. Because if I don’t do it, I am putting her life in danger.”
Hundreds of villages
Hundreds of villages, particularly in central Mali, already live under the yoke of JNIM. Because the Malian army does not have the means to secure them, and to be able to farm their fields or graze their animals without suffering attacks, these villages have resigned themselves in recent years to making local agreements with the jihadists. The inhabitants are, therefore, forced to submit to JNIM’s rules: wearing the veil for women, short trousers for men, elimination of public schools, imposition of certain religious practices – manner of praying, for example…
Regarding the new rules announced by JNIM on Friday, October 17 for Malian roads, besides the wearing of the veil for women, it demands that transport companies cease all collaboration with the security forces. Finally, in case of an accident, anyone who runs over an animal or damages a vehicle must compensate the victim.
Since this announcement, neither the army nor the political authorities of the Malian transition have commented on these new rules that JNIM intends to impose on the country’s roads.
Malian truck drivers are going on strike. In a video statement released on the evening of Sunday, October 19, the National Union of Malian Truck and Bus Drivers announced an immediate and unlimited strike. According to its representatives, this strike was instituted following remarks by a member of the National Transitional Council who has