Kiel University in Germany has prohibited full-face coverings and niqab after a row with a Muslim student.
The university in the capital of the German state Schleswig-Holstein clarified that its action did not comprise a full ban. “On campus, students may wear a burqa or niqab, which only has one eyeslit,” said university spokesman Boris Pawlowski.
However, the university’s executive committee chose to prohibit the niqab during classes in a directive from January 29.
Karin Prien of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) – the education minister for the state of Schleswig-Holstein, welcomed the decision and announced a legislative initiative against the wearing of niqab in educational institutes.
