Egypt University Loses Fight To Ban Veiled Student

A Cairo court ruled Saturday that a private Egyptian university cannot ban a visiting student from entering its premises in full Islamic veil, a judicial source said.

Iman Taha Al Zainy, banned from entering the American University in Cairo (AUC) library in 2001, was told by Judge Sayed Nofal that it was her constitutional right to enter the university grounds in the full face veil. The ruling was welcomed by local rights groups.

"The verdict conforms completely to international human rights law, which does not allow restrictions against women in their choice of clothing, and any discrimination on the basis of that choice," said Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.

In 2001, Zainy, studying for a doctorate at the Islamic university of Al Azhar, was told by AUC that she had to remove her niqab covering the entire face except for the eyes - for security reasons before entering the compound.

A court ruled in her favor in 2001 allowing the student to enter the university on the grounds that wearing the veil was a matter of personal and religious freedom. AUC appealed the case.

A 1994 ministry of education decree bans the niqab at Egyptian government universities other than religious institutions like Al Azhar. In practice, however, many state universities allow the niqab on campus, commissioning female security personnel to carry out identity checks on niqab- wearing women, especially before exams.