Niqāb

The niqab in Egypt has a complex and long history. On 8 October 2009, Egypt's top Islamic school and the world's leading school of Sunni Islam, Al-Azhar, banned the wearing of the niqab in classrooms and dormitories of all its affiliate schools and educational institutes.[18]

The niqab was traditionally worn in Southern Iran from the arrival of Islam until the end of the Qajar era. There were many regional variations of niqab, which were also called ruband or pushiye. Traditionally, Iranian women wore chadors long before Islam arrived.

The 20th century ruler, Reza Shah, banned all variations of face veil in 1936, as incompatible with his ambitions to westernize the citizens of Iran and their traditional historical culture. Reza Shah ordered the police to arrest women who wore the niqab and to remove their face veils by force. This policy outraged the clerics who believed it was obligatory for women to cover their faces. Many women gathered at the Goharshad Mosque in Mashhad with their faces covered to show their objection to the niqab ban.[19]

Between 1941 and 1979 wearing the niqab was no longer against the law, but it was considered by the government to be a "badge of backwardness." During these years, wearing the niqab and chador became much less common and instead most religious women wore headscarves only. Fashionable hotels and restaurants refused to admit women wearing niqabs. High schools and universities actively discouraged or even banned the niqab, though the headscarf was tolerated.[20]

After the new government of 'Islamic Republic' was established, the niqab ban was not enforced by officials.

In modern Iran, the wearing of niqab is not common and is only worn by certain ethnic minorities and a minority of Arab Muslims in the southern Iranian coastal cities, such as Bandar Abbas, Minab and Bushehr. Some women in the Arab-populated province of Khuzestan still wear niqab.

In 2015, the constitutional Council of Islamic Ideology issued the fatwa that women are not required to wear niqab or cover their hands or feet under Shariah.[21]

The niqab is an important part of Saudi culture and in most Saudi cities (including Riyadh, Mecca, Medina, Abha, etc.) the vast majority of women cover their faces. The Saudi niqab usually leaves a long open slot for the eyes; the slot is held together by a string or narrow strip of cloth.[22] In 2008, the Mohammad Habadan, a religious authority in Mecca, reportedly called on women to wear veils that reveal only one eye, so that women would not be encouraged to use eye make-up.[23]

1,200 niqab-wearing teachers were transferred to administrative duties in the summer of 2010 in Syria because the face veil was undermining the secular policies followed by the state as far as education is concerned.[24] In the summer of 2010, students wearing the niqab were prohibited from registering for university classes. The ban was associated with a move by the Syrian government to re-affirm Syria's traditional secular atmosphere.[25]

On 6 April 2011 it was reported that teachers would be allowed to once again wear the niqab.[26]

Since antiquity, the Arab tradition of wearing the niqab has been practiced by women living in Yemen.[27] Traditionally, girls begin wearing veils in their teenage years.[28][29]

Acceptance of the niqab is not universal in Yemen. A senior member of the Al-Islah political party, Tawakkol Karman, removed her niqab at a human rights conference in 2004 and since then has called for "other women and female activists to take theirs off".[30]

Covering the face was enforced by the Taliban regime with the traditional Afghan face veil called the burka.[31]

The niqab is outlawed in Azerbaijan, where the overwhelming majority of the population is Muslim. Niqabi women, just like women wearing hijab, cannot work as public servants, neither can they continue studies at schools, including the private schools. Although there is no single law banning niqab at private companies, it would be nearly impossible for a niqabi woman to find work.

In February 2010, an Arab country's unnamed ambassador to Dubai had his marriage annulled after discovering that his bride was cross-eyed and had facial hair. The woman had worn a niqab on the occasions that the couple had met prior to the wedding. The ambassador informed the Sharia court that he had been deliberately deceived by the bride's mother, who had shown him photographs of the bride's sister. He only discovered this when he lifted the niqab to kiss his bride. The court annulled the marriage, but refused a claim for compensation.[32][33]

Sultaana Freeman gained national attention in 2003 when she sued the US state of Florida for the right to wear a niqab for her driver's license photo.[34] However, a Florida circuit court ruled there was no violation in the state requiring her to show her face to a camera in a private room with only a female employee to take the picture, in exchange for the privilege of driving.[35] The ruling was affirmed by the appellate court.[36]

One female non-Muslim student at Eastern Michigan University spent a semester in 2005 wearing a niqab for a class project (she referred to the face veil as a "burqa"). Her stated experiences, such as her own feeling as if no one wanted to be near her, led her to assert that conservative Muslim dress is disapproved of in the United States.[37]

Some Muslim Palestinian women, particularly students, have worn white niqabs during Arab protest activities relating to the Arab–Israeli conflict.[38][39]

In 2006, female candidates from the Hamas party campaigned during the Palestinian Authority parliamentary elections, wearing niqabs.[40][41]

In July 2015, Cameroon banned the face veil including the burqa after two women dressed in the religious garments completed a suicide attack killing 13.[42][43] This was also done in order to counter extremism in public and places of work.[44]

In June 2015, the full face veil was banned in Chad after veiled Boko Haram bombers disguised as women completed multiple suicide attacks.[43][45][46]

In May 2015, the Republic of the Congo banned the face veil in order to counter extremism.[47][48] The decision was announced by El Hadji Djibril Bopaka, the president of the country's Islamic High Council.[49]

In October 2018 the Algerian government banned the wearing of full-face veils, including the niqab, for female public servants while at work.[50][51]

The Moroccan government distributed letters to businesses on 9 January 2017 declaring a ban on the burka. The letters indicated the "sale, production and import" or the garment were prohibited and businesses were expected to clear their stock within 48 hours.[52]

In July 2019, wearing the niqab was banned in government buildings. The ban came after the capital Tunis was attacked by three suicide bombings in seven days.[53]

In February 2015, the city of Ürümqi banned face veils in order to counter extremism.[54] The Chinese government later expanded the ban to all of Xinjiang in March 2017.[55]

Face veils were banned in the aftermath of the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings.[56]

In 2017 the government of Tajikistan passed a law requiring people to "stick to traditional national clothes and culture", which has been widely seen as an attempt to prevent women from wearing traditional Islamic clothing, in particular the style of headscarf wrapped under the chin, in contrast to the traditional Tajik headscarf tied behind the head.[57]

In 2016, a legal ban on face-covering Islamic clothing was adopted by the Bulgarian parliament.[58]

In autumn 2017, the Danish parliament (Danish: Folketinget) agreed to adopt a law prohibiting people to wear "attire and clothing masking the face in such a way that it impairs recognizability".[59] A full ban on both niqabs and burqas was announced on 31 May 2018.[60] The ban came into force on 1 August 2018 and carries a fine of 1000 DKK, about 134 euro, by repeat offending the fine may reach 10 000 DKK.[61] Then targets all garments that covers the face, such as fake beards or balaclavas.[62] Supporters of the ban claim that the ban facilitates integration of Muslims into Danish society while Amnesty International claimed the ban violated women's rights.[62] A protest numbering 300-400 people was held in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen organised by Socialist Youth Front, Kvinder i Dialog and Party Rebels.[63]

The first fine was issued in Hørsholm in August 2018 to a woman dressed in a niqab who was in a fistfight with another woman on an escalator in a shopping centre. During the fight, her face-covering veil fell off, but as police approached, she put it on again and police issued the fine.[64] Both women were suspected of public order violations.[64]

In 2016, a legal ban on face-covering Islamic clothing was proposed for adoption by the Latvian parliament.[65]

In 2012 in Norway, a professor at the University of Tromsø denied a student's use of niqab in the classroom.[66] The professor claimed Norway's parliament granted each teacher the right to deny the use of niqab in his/her classroom.[66] Clothing that covers the face, such as a niqab, is prohibited in some schools and municipalities.[67][68][69]

The Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg stated in an interview that in Norwegian work environments it is essential to see each other's faces and therefore anyone who insists on wearing a niqab is in practice unemployable. Solberg also views the wearing of the niqab as a challenge to social boundaries in the Norwegian society, a challenge that would be countered by Norway setting boundaries of its own. Solberg also stated that anyone may wear what they wish in their spare time and that her comments applied to professional life but that any immigrant has the obligation to adapt to Norwegian work life and culture.[70]

In June 2018, the parliament of Norway passed a bill banning clothing covering the face at educational institutions as well as daycare centres, which included face-covering Islamic veils. The prohibition applies to pupils and staff alike.[71][72]

In 2012, a poll by Uppsala University found that Swedes believed that face-covering Islamic veils are either completely unacceptable or fairly unacceptable, 85% for the burqa and 81% for the niqāb. The researchers noted these figures represented a compact resistance to the face-covering veil by the population of Sweden.[73]

In December 2019, the municipality of Skurup banned Islamic veils in educational institutions. Earlier, the municipality of Staffanstorp approved a similar ban.[74]

In the United Kingdom, comments by Jack Straw, MP started a national debate over the wearing of the "veil" (niqab), in October 2006. Around that time there was media coverage of the case of Aishah Azmi, a teaching assistant in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, who lost her appeal against suspension from her job for wearing the niqab while teaching English to young children. It was decided that being unable to see her face prevented the children from learning effectively. Azmi, who had been interviewed and hired for the position without the niqab, allegedly on her husband's advice, argued it was helping the children understand different people's beliefs.[75] In 2010, a man committed a bank robbery wearing a niqab as a disguise.[76]

In Italy, a law issued in 1975 strictly forbids wearing any attire in public that could hide the face of a person. Penalties (fines and imprisonment) are provided for such behaviour. The original purpose of the anti-mask law was to prevent crime or terrorism. The law allows for exemptions for a "justified cause", which has sometimes been interpreted by courts as including religious reasons for wearing a veil, but others – including local governments – disagree and claim religion is not a "justified cause" in this context.[77]

In 2017, a legal ban on face-covering Islamic clothing was adopted by the Austrian parliament.[78]

On 29 April 2010, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives adopted a law prohibiting people to wear "attire and clothing masking the face in such a way that it impairs recognizability". The penalty for violating this directive can run from up to 14 days imprisonment and a 250 euro fine.

On 11 July 2017 the ban in Belgium was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after having been challenged by two Muslim women who claimed their rights had been infringed.[79]

On 13 July 2010 France's lower house of parliament overwhelmingly approved a ban on wearing burqa-style Islamic veils. The legislation forbids face-covering Muslim veils in all public places in France and calls for fines or citizenship classes, or both. The bill also is aimed at husbands and fathers – anyone convicted of forcing someone else to wear the garb risks a year of prison and a fine, with both penalties, doubled if the victim is a minor.

In 2017, a legal ban on face-covering clothing for soldiers and state workers during work was approved by German parliament.[80] Also in 2017, a legal ban on face-covering clothing for car and truck drivers was approved by German Ministry of Traffic.[81]

In July 2017, German state Bavaria approved a legal ban on face-covering clothing for teachers, state workers and students at university and schools.[82]

In August 2017, the state of Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen) banned the burqa along with the niqab in public schools. This change in the law was prompted by a Muslim pupil in Osnabrück who wore the garment to school for years and refused to take it off. Since she has completed her schooling, the law was instituted to prevent similar cases in the future.[83]

In July 2020, the state of Baden-Württemberg banned face-covering veils for pupils, which extended the ban which was already in force for school staff.[84]

In 2007, the government of the Netherlands planned a legal ban on face-covering Islamic clothing, popularly described as the 'burqa ban', which included the niqab.[85] In 2015, a partial ban of the niqab and burqa were approved by the Dutch government.[86] The parliament still had to approve the measure.[86] In November 2016, the legal ban on face-covering was approved by parliament.[87] On 26 June 2018, a partial ban on face covering (including niqabs) on public transport and in buildings and associated yards of educational institutions, governmental institutions and healthcare institutions was enacted, with a number of exceptions.[88]

In July 2016, the Canton of Ticino banned face-covering veils.[89]

In September 2018, a ban on face-covering veils was approved with a 67% vote in favour in the canton of St Gallen. The largest Islamic community organisation in Switzerland, the Islamic Central Council, recommended that Muslim women continue to cover their faces.[90]

In March 2021, a nationwide referendum was held on whether full-face coverings should be banned in public, which includes niqabs and burqas. Voters narrowly voted to ban niqabs and burqas by a 51.2% to 48.8% margin.[91]

The niqab is banned in the Canadian province of Quebec in all publicly funded services. Persons cannot receive public service or provide public service with their faces covered. This includes public transportation, hospitals, and courts amongst others. On 18 October 2017, Bill 62 passed into law after a 66–51 vote in the Quebec National Assembly. The new law is entitled "An Act to foster adherence to State religious neutrality and, in particular, to provide a framework for requests for accommodation on religious grounds in certain bodies". However, regulations regarding the ban's implementation, and religious accommodations, are not expected until July 2018.[92]

On 16 November 2015 the first act of Canada's newly appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould was to assure women who chose to wear the niqāb during the Oath of Allegiance of their right to do so.[93] In December 2011 then-Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced a policy directive from the Federal Government under then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper that Muslim women must remove niqābs throughout the citizenship ceremony where they declare their Oath of Allegiance.[94] Zunera Ishaq, a Sunni Muslim woman living in Mississauga, Ontario, challenged and won the niqāb ban in the case of Canada v Ishaq on 5 October 2015. The Federal Court of Appeal decision in her favour was seen by some as "an opportunity to revisit the rules governing the somewhat difficult relationship between law and policy."[95] In October 2015 Harper had appealed the Supreme Court of Canada to take up the case. With the election of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on 19 October 2015, the niqāb debate was settled as the Liberal government chose to not "politicize the issue any further."[96] Minister Wilson-Raybould, who is the first Indigenous person to be named as Justice Minister, explained as she withdrew Harper's appeal to the Supreme Court, "In all of our policy as a government we will ensure that we respect the values that make us Canadians, those of diversity, inclusion and respect for those fundamental values."[93] The Justice Minister spoke with Zunera by telephone to tell her the news prior to making her official announcement.[93]

Elections Canada, the agency responsible for elections and referendums, stated that Muslim women can cover their faces while voting. The decision was criticized by the Conservative Party of Canada, Bloc Québécois, and Liberal Party of Canada. The New Democrats were not opposed to the decision.[97] The Conservative federal Cabinet had introduced legislation to parliament that would bar citizens from voting if they arrived at polling stations with a veiled face.

The niqāb became an issue in the 2007 election in Quebec after it became public knowledge that women wearing the niqāb were allowed to vote under the same rules as electors who did not present photo identification (ID); namely, by sworn oath in the presence of a third party who could vouch for their identity. The chief electoral officer received complaints that this policy was too accommodating of cultural minorities (a major theme in the election) and thereafter required accompaniment by bodyguards due to threatening telephone calls. All three major Quebec political parties were against the policy, with the Parti Québécois and Action démocratique du Québec vying for position as most opposed. The policy was soon changed to require all voters to show their face, even if they did not carry photo ID. However, Quebec residents who wear the niqāb stated they were not opposed to showing their faces for official purposes, such as voting.[98] Salam Elmenyawi of the Muslim Council of Montreal estimated that only 10 to 15 Muslim voters in the province wear the niqāb and, since their veils have become controversial, most would probably not vote.[99]

In October 2009, the Muslim Canadian Congress called for a ban on burqa and niqāb, saying that they have "no basis in Islam".[100] Spokesperson Farzana Hassan cited public safety issues, such as identity concealment, as well as gender equality, stating that wearing the burqa and niqāb is "a practice that marginalizes women."[100]

In December 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Muslim women who wear the niqāb must remove it in some cases when testifying in court.[101]

In 2002, Sultaana Freeman (formerly Sandra Keller, who converted to Islam in 1997 when marrying a Muslim man), sued the U.S. state of Florida for the right to wear a niqab for her driver's license photo.[34] However, a Florida appellate court ruled that there was no violation in the state requiring her to show her face to a camera in a private room with only a female employee to take the picture, in exchange for the privilege of driving. The prevailing view in Florida is currently that hiding one's face on a form of photo identification defeats the purpose of having the picture taken,[34] although 15 other states (including Arkansas, California, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, and Louisiana) have provisions that allow for driver's licenses absent of an identifying photograph in order to accommodate individuals who may have a religious reason to not have a photograph taken.[102] In 2012, a string of armed robberies in Philadelphia were committed by people disguised in traditional Islamic woman's garb; Muslim leaders were concerned that the use of the disguises could put Muslim women in danger of hate crimes and inflame ethnic tensions.[103]