Sri Lanka to ban burqas on 'national security grounds'; govt eyes shutting madrassas

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa-led government in Sri Lanka will ban the wearing of the burqa, a traditional face cover generally worn by Muslim women, as per reports in Lankan media. The country's Minister of Public Security Dr. Sarath Weeasekera has told the Sri Lankan Parliament that the government will ban madrasas and burqas as a measure to prevent 'the recurrence of Islamic extremist activities' in the island nation. The Lankan Minister has signed the legislation, which now awaits the cabinet approval, to ban the full-face covering worn by Muslim women, on 'national security grounds'. 

Addressing a news conference on Friday in Sri Lanka, Minister Weeasekera said that traditionally Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa and it is now a sign of 'religious extremism'. Previously, the wearing of burqa was banned in Sri Lanka in wake of the bombing of churches and hotels my Islamic militants back in 2019. The Public Security Minister has also said that his government is mulling to ban more than a thousand madrassas which he alleged have been flouting the country's national education policy. 

The Sri Lankan government has come under the scanner of international rights groups on previous occasions for imposing strict regulation on minorities. During the Coronavirus outbreak, the Lankan government had mandated the cremation of COVID-19 victims in the Buddhist-majority country - against the wishes of Muslims who bury their dead. The order was subsequently quashed after intense scrutiny by the US and foreign rights groups. Moreover, President Rajapaksa has also been accused of widespread rights abuses, which he has denied. 

Burqa ban in Switzerland

The move to ban burqas in Sri Lanka is followed by a similar order in Switzerland which has gathered international attention as the United Nations entered the row. After Swiss voters narrowly approved the referendum to ban the wearing of full-face-covering burqas and niqabs, the UN humans rights office has expressed concern over the move. The move will outlaw covering one's face in public places, with some exceptions including health reasons like wearing masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Authorities now have two years to draw up detailed legislation.

Ravina Shamdasani, a rights office spokeswoman, acknowledged it was a divisive issue and said women shouldn't be forced to cover their faces, but the use of the law to dictate what women should wear is problematic for a human rights perspective. The legal ban on face coverings will unduly restrict women's freedom to manifest their religion or beliefs and has a broader impact on their human rights, she told reporters at a regular U.N. briefing in the Swiss city of Geneva.

As per the Associated Press, a populist, right-wing Swiss party strongly favoured the measure, while left-leaning parties opposed it. The approval puts Switzerland on track to join countries including Belgium and France that have already enacted similar measures.