ZCZC
BFF-44
EGYPT-RELIGION-DRESS
Egypt court backs niqab ban on Cairo University staff
CAIRO, Jan 27, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A top Egyptian court has ruled in favour
of banning female academic staff at Cairo University from wearing the Muslim
face veil, known as the niqab, lawyer Ahmed Mahran said Monday.
The decision taken by the Supreme Administrative Court last week rejected
appeals against a 2016 lower court verdict banning the niqab on grounds that
it impeded interaction between students and teachers.
The ban on the niqab, which covers the entire face except for the eyes,
has often sparked fierce debate on religious freedoms.
“The ruling is final and not subject to appeal,” said Mahran, who
represented 80 women in challenging the 2016 ruling.
Most Muslim women in Egypt wear the headscarf, or hijab, which covers the
hair but not the face. The niqab is largely worn by women of ultra-
conservative backgrounds.
The ban was introduced in 2015 by a previous head of Cairo University, two
years after the 2013 military ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Mahran said the decision was issued for “political reasons” at the time.
“But it never came into effect. I do not expect it to be applied now,” he
added.
Cairo University is one of Egypt’s oldest higher education institutions.
Its current head, Mohamed Othman Elkhosht, quoted by local media, said his
institution respected decisions taken by the judiciary but did not specify if
the ban would be enforced.
BSS/AFP/BZC/2016HRS