New Delhi (NVI): After several European countries like France, Germany and Switzerland, it’s now Sri Lanka which has announced ban on wearing of burqa in public places.
The announcement was made by Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera, while addressing a function in Kalutara district yesterday, where he said that he has signed the cabinet paper to ban wearing the burqa, reports Daily Mirror.
“We know we had a lot of Muslim friends during our childhood. Muslim girls did not wear burqa (the veils that cover the faces of Islamic women) at that time. It is a symbol of religious extremism that came recently. It will definitely be prohibited along with the madrasas,” the Minister was quoted as saying by the Sri Lankan news portal.
Several European countries, including France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark have already imposed partial and local bans on face coverings as part of deradicalisation efforts.
In 2011, France was the first to ban burqas and niqabs in public spaces. The European Court of Human Rights upheld the ban in 2014.
Pertinent to mention here that the wearing of burqa was temporarily banned in Sri Lanka after the Easter terror bombings in April 2019 in which more than 250 people were killed.
The IS-inspired bombings were attributed to a local Islamist radical network.
Besides the burqa ban, Sarath Weerasekera also announced that the Sri Lanka government will shut down more than 1000 madrassas (Islamic schools), saying that these schools are not registered in line with the country’s national education policy. He said that there are more than 2000 madrasas functioning in the country.
“None of us can open a school and teach the children whatever they want. All children between the ages of 5 and 16 should be educated according to a national education policy introduced in this country,” he added.
-ARK
