Cairo: A ruling by an Egyptian court, revoking a controversial ban on wearing the niqab (full-face veil) in university dormitories and examination halls, has added to the controversy over the garb.
The Administrative Court in Cairo on Sunday said that the ban, imposed by the Minister of Higher Education and presidents of public universities, violates the constitution, which respects personal freedom and the right to practise one's faith.
Freedom of beliefs
"This ruling is historic because it enshrines our freedom of beliefs," said Hanan Okasha, one of the university students, who had gone to court to protest the ban.
"The court said that the ban arbitrarily demands us to remove the niqab and continue to go to the university, or keep it and stay at home. This ban is unfair and discriminatory, especially as scantily clad girls are allowed to go everywhere, including universities, freely."
Some niqab wearers say the head-to-toe dress protects them from sexual harassment, which pro-women groups say is rife in this country of 80 million people.
The controversy over the niqab in this predominantly Muslim country erupted last October when Mohammad Tantawi, the Grand Shaikh of Al Azhar, which is the Sunni Muslim world's leading seat of learning, banned the wearing of the niqab in female-only classes and dormitories. The top Muslim cleric said that the costume is not an Islamic duty.
A few days later, Minister of Higher Education Hani Hilal followed suit, citing security reasons. He explained that several men were caught putting on the niqab to enter university hostels. Last week, Hilal barred niqab-wearing students from taking their exams unless they remove the veil.
He also ordered that niqab-wearing female lecturers should not be allowed into classes.
The ban renewed protests outside Cairo University, Egypt's largest government-run university, and in other educational institutions. Extending the ban has drawn massive condemnations from Islamists and human rights groups.
Meanwhile, the Cairo University's Teaching Staff Club, an independent union, slammed the government's interference with university affairs.
"Presidents of universities should scrap this ban, which violates freedoms protected by the constitution," said the union's members in a statement obtained by Gulf News.
