CAIRO: A Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday against the full face veil (niqab), giving authorities and institutions the right to ban it. The court based its verdict on its interpretation of Islamic Sharia, which does not oblige women to cover their faces. The case was filed by a number of Cairo University students who don the niqab against Minister of Higher Education Hani Helal's decision to ban face-veiled students from entering the university's dorms. Face-veiled students protested in front of Cairo University's dorms Wednesday, when they were not allowed to enter the dorms based on Helal's decision. "I am a top student who achieved a very high grade in thanaweya amma, that enabled me to study at Cairo University and now that I am banned from staying at the university's dorms, where am I supposed to go? a face-veiled student said. She added that they have already agreed to show their faces to a female security guard at the gates, but none were available. The court's verdict also coincides with a controversial decision by Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawy to ban the niqab in the religious institution's schools and universities. Tantawy's announcement followed a visit to some classes on the first day of school, where he allegedly made inappropriate comments to a face-veiled student. However Tantawy denied the media reports on a local TV show on Wednesday. "I did not tell any of the girls that I know Islam better than them and their parents. Neither did I tell any of them that they are not pretty or anything of that sort, Tantawy said. Tantawy explained that he saw an 11-year-old student wearing the full face veil inside one of Al-Azhar's classrooms. He said he asked why she is wearing it inside where the students and teacher are female. He said most of his remarks were addressed to the class teacher, who told him that teachers cannot interfere if students wish to wear the full face veil inside the classroom. Tantawy said that while he respects "women and their freedom of choice to dress, he added that "niqab is a tradition and has nothing to do with Islam. On a related note, Suad Saleh, professor of Islamic jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University said that she supports the niqab ban at universities saying it is neither "an obligation nor a sunnah. In the same regard, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights issued a statement defending the rights of female students to wear whatever they please according to their religious beliefs. In his statement to the press, Hossam Bahgat, chairman of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said that while his organization does not support the face veil, it still defends the personal freedom of individuals in their beliefs and dress code. "The decision of eliminating the face veil is discriminatory and contradicts the Egyptian constitution that emphasizes the concept of citizenship rights and equality between all citizens, Bahgat added.
