The government of Egypt has banned the wearing of the full-body veil (niqab) in schools from the beginning of the next term on 30 September, according to a media report.
Announcing the decision, Education Minister Reda Hegazy said students would still have the right to choose whether to wear a headscarf, but insisted it must not cover their faces. The parents of the child who choose to wear a particular dress should be aware of their ward’s choice. Under no circumstances, there should be any pressure on the child to wear the religious dress. “Here, the role of the teachers of the Arabic language, religious education, and social and psychological education, will be to prepare the students psychologically to implement the ministry’s decision with all kindness and gentleness, taking into account the students’ psychological state and their age level,” he said in a statement.
Wearing niqab was strictly implemented by radical Muslim Brotherhood gained prominence in Egyptian society. However, there has always been a debate over the wearing of the niqab in schools for many years in Egypt. Some in Egypt associate it with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group banned as a terrorist organization since 2013, the same year a Brotherhood-backed elected government was overthrown in a military coup.
Rights group have argued that the Egyptian constitution protects religious freedoms and restricting the niqab is a violation of civil liberties.
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