Egypt’s government has banned female students from wearing the niqab, or face veil, while attending schools, effective from the upcoming academic term on Sept. 30, according to local reports.
Egyptian Minister of Education Reda Hegazy issued new guidelines on school uniforms on Sept. 11, which state that female students are allowed to wear a hair cover, but it should not cover their faces.
Mr. Hegazy said guardians must be informed of their daughter’s choice to wear a hair cover and allow her to decide “without pressure or coercion from any person or entity other than the guardian.”
The minister said that the school board will work with the board of trustees, parents, and teachers to decide on the uniform color for all pupils. This decision will be taken in collaboration with the education directorate.
The niqab is a garment some Muslim women wear, concealing their faces except for their eyes.
Cairo University’s Previous Ban on Face Veil
In 2015, Cairo University in Egypt banned the wearing of face veils by female staff amid student complaints about communication difficulties during classes. This decision sparked condemnation among people who viewed it as religious discrimination.Gaber Nassar, former head of Cairo University, said the niqab is especially problematic in language courses, where the cloth barrier of the veil hinders student-teacher communications—producing low grades and graduates incapable of enunciation.
In 2009, Cairo University banned students and staff from wearing the niqab on campus or in dorms. The ban was later overturned by a Cairo court following a lawsuit filed by a professor.
When asked about this, Mr. Nassar explained that the previous ban was deemed unconstitutional because it applied to “all of the university.” In contrast, his ban was only focused on lecture halls.
“We are not banning the niqab, we are just regulating it,” Mr. Nassar told The Associated Press on Oct. 13, 2015.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) has argued that banning the wearing of the niqab may implicate the country’s international legal obligations regarding the right to manifest one’s religion or belief.
“Giving the state far-reaching authority over determining suitable clothes to religious values or public order, this right and potentially opens the door to other restrictions over attire and women’s bodies more broadly,” he added.