Kerala Muslim educational body prohibits female students from wearing 'burqa'

Thiruvananthapuram, May 2, 2019:

At a time when there is a lot of debate surrounding the Islamic face veil (commonly known as 'burqa'), an Islamic educational body has released a circular which prohibits girls from wearing the face veil.

From the 2019-20 academic year, heads of institutions and local management must ensure that female students do not come to attend classes with their faces covered, the Muslim Educational Society (MES), which runs many educational institutions, attested in its circular.

“We must discourage all undesirable tendencies in campuses,” the circular, signed by Dr. PA Fazal Gafoor, said.

It may be mentioned that the Sri Lankan government had recently banned women from wearing face coverings under an emergency law shortly after the Easter Sunday bombings which left 350 persons dead.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, in its mouthpiece Saamana, has sought a ban on the burqa in India, citing the example of Sri Lanka where the government banned all types of face veils following the Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed over 250 people.