No banning of Hijab

The government had no intention of banning the hijab as it did not pose a threat to national security, Minister of Public Security Rear Admiral (retd.) Dr. Sarath Weerasekera said yesterday.

Minister Weerasekera said that the hijab did not conceal the identity of an individual and that only the niqab and the burqa would be banned.

He said that surgical and other masks used to prevent people from spreading the coronavirus could be removed in public upon request; but religious attire like niqab and the burqa couldn’t be removed in that manner. “Hence the ban,” he said.