Concerns rise over Sri Lanka’s move to ban burqas

COLOMBO (HRNW) — A Pakistani diplomat and a U.N. expert have expressed concerns over Sri Lanka’s proposed move to ban the wearing of burqas.

Sri Lanka announced plans over the weekend to ban the wearing of burqas — garments worn by some Muslim women that cover the body and face — and also said it would close more than 1,000 Islamic schools known as madrassas, citing national security.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Saad Khattak, tweeted on Monday that the ban would “only serve as injury to the feelings of ordinary Sri Lankan Muslims and Muslims across the globe.”

The United Nations’ special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, tweeted that the “burqa bans are incompatible with int’l law guarantees of the right to manifest one’s religion or belief & of freedom of expression.”