The Egyptian High Administrative Court decided on Monday to impose a ban on the Cairo University's academic staff from wearing a face veil “niqab” during classes.
The court’s ruling is irrevocable and cannot be appealed, putting an end the case that began in 2015.
The court rejected all appeals against the January 2016 ruling by an administrative court that upheld a decision of Cairo University former President Gaber Nassar to ban the university's staff from wearing the face veil.
Nassar’s decision dates back to October of 2015 in which he banned veiled faculty members from giving lectures with their faces covered. An Egyptian court supported the resolution in January, when it rejected four lawsuits filed by about 80 veiled scholars against the decision.
According to 2016's ruling reasoning, the freedom to choice of clothing falls under personal freedoms guaranteed by the constitution; however, such a freedom is not absolute and should be practiced with respect to public decency.
Cairo University’s veil ban is not the first of its kind. The university issued a similar decision in 2010, but it was struck down by the court.
On the regional level, the Tunisian government introduced a ban on the hijab for girls younger than 12 years old in February of 2015, as well as a full ban on the niqab at all educational institutions.
Later last year the Tunisian education ministry suspended a schoolteacher and a high school supervisor for refusing to remove their niqabs. Also, the decision by Tunisia’s Manouba University to prevent female students from wearing veils on campus triggered riots and closures of the university for a short time.
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