Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to ban the wearing of burqas in public. A UN expert has said the ban could be against international law.
The cabinet approved the proposal raised by Public Security Minister Sarath Virasekara at its weekly meeting on Tuesday. Virasekara shared this information on his Facebook page.
The proposal will now be sent to the Attorney General’s Department and must be approved by Parliament to pass as law. The law is expected to pass easily in parliament, as the government has a majority of seats in parliament.
The burqa, a religious dress worn by Muslim women, has been described by Virasekera as “indicative of religious extremism.” He said the ban would improve national security.
The government temporarily banned the burqa after a suicide bombing on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka in 2019 killed 260 people.
Two local organizations affiliated with the terrorist organization IS were blamed for the attack.
