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Egypt court overturns ban on full veils in exams

(Reuters) Female university students in Egypt are allowed once again to wear the niqab during exams. However, they will have to show their faces when asked for security reasons. Minister of Higher Education Hany Helal imposed the ban in October 2008, because he said that students used the niqab to cheat. According to him, the niqab allowed students to cover up cheating and to sit exams in the place o their friends. After the ban was imposed, 55 students appealed against it. The court said that freedom to wear the niqab is guaranteed by human rights and constitutional liberties. Moreover, it added that the niqab cannot be used to oppress women.

1.

History and facts about the niqab

Wikipedia
This page gives information about the niqab. It's a full-face veil common to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the UAE. It's very similar to the burqa. Muslim girls often start wearing it at the onset of puberty. The niqab is still an issue among Muslim scholars jurists. The main point being debated is whether the niqab should be mandatory, highly recommended or forbidden. The parts of the female body not meant to be seen in public vary greatly across the Muslim world. Those who argue for the mandatory wear of the niqab say that it is written in the Qur'an that Muhammad's wives would cover their faces in the presence of unknown men.

2.

Muslim Canadian Congress for the ban on veils

Muslim Canadian Congress
The Muslim Canadian Congress is an organization that provides a voice to Muslims who are not represented by existing organizations. In this press release, the congress asks the federal government to band all forms of veil, saying that the veils are security hazards and symbols of Saudi-inspired Islamic extremism. The congress argues that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not protect the wearing of a veil and that there is no requirement in the Qur'an for Muslim women to cover their faces. Furthermore, they add that invoking religious freedom to conceal one's identity and to promote a political ideology is disingenuous.

3.

The niqab: fact v fiction

Muslim Matters
The website Muslim Matters is a collaboration between various Muslim bloggers in order to bring attention to issues faced by Muslims, especially in the West. In this article, London-based Fatima Barkatulla debunks veil myths. Thus, the niqab is not a symbol of female subjugation, but rather an act of devotion to their Creator. Women who wear the niqab come from varied backgrounds: doctors, academics, homemakers, authors and other professionals. The niqab is mentioned in many verses of the Qur'an. Wearing the niqab doesn't imply that all men are predatory. The niqab does not pose any security risk at airports and banks. Banning the niqab would not liberate Muslim women, but rather persecute them.

4.

Progressive Muslim Union of North American against veils

Muslim Candian Congress
Mona Eltahawy was the director of the Progessive Muslim Union of North America. It was a liberal Islamic organization that disbanded in December 2006. In this article written for the Muslim Canadian Congress, Eltahawy argues against the niqab. She writes that the veil terrifies her because it erases a woman's identity. She wore the hijab for nine years before abandoning it. She has heard many time the argument that women are like candy or precious jewels and they need to be covered up to protect and prove their worth. She unequivocally refuses to defend the niqab, regardless of who is making the argument for or against it.

5.

Egypt: niqab debate, divided scholars

The Association for Women’s Rights In Development
The Association for Women's Rights In Development is an international association committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights. In this article, Alfred Hackensberger agrees with the October niqab ban in Egypt universities and with the Grand Imam of Cairo University's view that the veil is un-Islamic. Hackensebrger adds that verses in the Qur'an that mention the veil cannot be unequivocally interpreted as instruction that women must be covered. However, he concludes that this decision has caused helplessness among niqab wearers. They do not know what they are supposed to do and find the swift global impact of the issue unsettling.