Highest Egyptian court upheld ban on niqab in Cairo University

Highest Egyptian court upheld ban on niqab in Cairo University

The ban was imposed in 2015 but never implemented

The highest Egyptian court Supreme Administrative Court has upheld the ban on niqab imposed in 2015 in Cairo University. The full face veil was banned by head of the oldest higher education institution in Egypt known as Cairo University. More than 80 women including Cairo University teachers appealed against lower court decision to uphold the ban in 2016.

 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 ruling is final and not subject to appeal,” said the lawyer who filed the appeal. 

   

The ban on the niqab, which covers the entire face except for the eyes, has often sparked fierce debate on religious freedoms. Most Muslim women in Egypt wear the headscarf, or hijab, which covers the hair but not the face. The Muslim societies are bitterly divided on this issue. In some countries conservative views dominate and they have enforced a conservative female dress code. In countries- liberals are trying to impose ban on niqab. 

   

The matter of fact is that this ban never be implemented in practice. Few female teachers at the university wear niqab. Cairo University’s current head Mohamed Othman Elkhosht has said that his institution respected decisions taken by the judiciary but did not specify if the ban would be enforced.

                                                 Rukhsana Manzoor deputy editor insight247.news