Sri Lanka To Ban Burqa On "National Security" Grounds

Sri Lanka Bans Burqa: Sri Lanka government on Saturday said that they are going to ban the wearing of the burqa and will also shut about a thousand Islamic schools in the country.

Sri Lanka's Public Security officer Sarath Weerasekera during a news conference said that he has signed a paper on Friday which will allow banning on the full-face covering worn by Muslin women called burqa in the name of 'national security.

Weerasekera said, " In our early days Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa, It is a religious extremism that came about recently."

"We are definitely going to ban it," he added.

The Wearing of burqa was earlier banned in 2019 temporarily after churches and hotels were bombed by Islamic militants. The attack killed more than 250 people. Soon after that, Gotabaya Rajapaksa known for the crackdown on extremism in the country was elected as the president.

Weerasekera on shutting down the madrassa Islamic schools said that the schools were flouting Sri Lanka education policy. He said, "Nobody can open a school and teach whatever you want to the children."

Earlier, the government of Sri Lanka faced backlash for ordering the cremation of COVID-19 victims. The order went against the wishes of Muslims as they bury the dead. The order was lifted after the move was criticised by the United States and international rights groups.