BurkasSri Lanka bans face veils in wake of Easter terror attacks

Published 29 April 2019

Women in Sri Lanka will no longer be able to cover their faces under new emergency regulations which came into effect Monday. Sri Lanka issued the ban as part of a series of emergency measures enacted in the wake of the Easter Sunday suicide attacks.

Sri Lanka has banned the wearing of hajib // Source: pxhere

Women in Sri Lanka will no longer be able to cover their faces under new emergency regulations which came into effect Monday. Sri Lanka issued the ban as part of a series of emergency measures enacted in the wake of the Easter Sunday suicide attacks. Some analysts fear that the ban would fan tensions between religious groups in the Buddhist-majority country.

The Sri Lanka security authorities say the ban on all types of face coverings will help police easily identify people as they look for suspects linked to a series of suicide attacks that killed more than 250 people on Easter Sunday.

It is a presidential order to ban any dress covering faces with immediate effect,” Dharmasri Bandara Ekanayake, a spokesman for President Maithripala Sirisena, told the Reuters news agency.

The BBC reports that dozens of people have been arrested so far over alleged links to the bombings, which targeted churches and luxury hotels. Local officials warned that there are still militants at large who could be planning another wave of attacks.

Eight days after the attacks, Sri Lanka remains tense and under tight security. Thousands of soldiers have been deployed across the country, joining police in carrying out searches and guard religious buildings, state offices, and public places. Nighttime curfews are still in place in some areas.

The new face-veil ban does not refer specifically to Muslim female garb, although it applies mainly to clothing such as niqabs and burqas.

Nearly 10 percent of the Buddhist-majority country are Muslims. The number of Muslim women who fully hide their faces is exceedingly small.

The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), the top body of Islamic scholars in Sri Lanka, said they backed a short-term face-covering ban on security grounds. But the group also expressed concerns that attempts to legislate against burqas, or prolong the ban, could fuel tensions in the religiously diverse nation.

We have given guidance to Muslim women to not to cover their faces in this emergency situation,” the ACJU’s Farhan Faris said.

If you make it a law, people will become emotional and this will bring another bad impact … it is their religious right,” he told Reuters.