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Banning burqa and niqab: A proposal of three committees, Minister

21 Mar 2021

A controversial Cabinet paper was recently submitted to Cabinet, proposing the banning of face-covering garments, which include both the niqab and the burqa. The paper, submitted by Minister of Public Security Rear Admiral (Retd.) Sarath Weerasekera, was claimed to have been the recommendation of three parliamentary committees.   The ban, which was proposed on 13 March, came a week after 51.2% of the people of Switzerland voted in favour of banning the wearing of face covers in public, including the burqa and niqab, in a referendum. Since then, the move has led to controversy both locally and internationally, with the move being denounced by South African Muslim organisations and the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission of the Organisation for Islamic Co-operation (OIC), a large grouping of Islamic states the world over.  However, speaking to The Sunday Morning, Weerasekera stated that the proposal he submitted was based solely on preventing religious extremism, and had nothing to do with religion. He explained that his proposal was for the banning of wearing of face veils that cover the face of the wearer, and hence included both the niqab and the burqa.  "When we look at Sri Lanka, around 30 to 40 years ago, we see that our Muslim brothers and sisters never wore the niqab or the burqa. They only wore the head scarf, which was seen as a sign of modesty,” he said. “This is the same in countries like Dubai where women do not wear these face covers, so what has changed? Is it the Quran? No. These are introduced by extremists and are practiced by extremist Muslim countries. I don't think even the Muslim women like wearing these face covers, they are impeding their basic human rights."  He stated that the proposal was based on recommendations of three committees, which included the Parliamentary Select Committee that was established soon after the Easter Sunday attacks, the relevant Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI), and sectoral oversight committee. While all three committees had recommended the move, no attempts were made to initiate it until Weerasekera's proposal. Based on these recommendations, Weerasekera stated that there will also be steps taken to regulate madrasa schools to avoid the spread of any religious extremism. This would include the reviewing of Islamic literature that enters the country.  "We cannot have any propaganda material coming down to the country, and creating more religious extremism in Sri Lanka. We are going to be working with respectable Islamic leaders, to help us translate and review any Islamic texts entering Sri Lanka."  However, Weerasekera disagreed with the PCoI's recommendation for the banning of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). He stated that the extremist attacks that took place on Easter Sunday had nothing to do with the BBS, and that the organisation was one of the ones which warned the Government against the attack. "The BBS had nothing to do with the incident, and the Secretary General of the BBS Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera was one of the people who warned us about this danger. If we had taken action based on his words, the tragic attack would not have taken place, so we should be thanking him."  According to Weerasekera, the Cabinet paper he submitted can be expected to get approval in the coming weeks. However, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Kabir Hashim disagreed with Weerasekera's proposal, citing it as unethical. He explained that all governments have to deal with some kind of extremism, so they need to strategically approach it. "As a government, the first thing they should have done is to have a dialogue with the Muslim religous, political, and community leaders. We even have a department of Muslim affairs where we have people who are qualified in the subject, and they are all willing to help combat extremism in the country. We did not even know about this ban until the media reported it." He reiterated that before making such proposals, there needs to be an open communication with the community in question.


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