TUNIS, July 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has banned the niqab Muslim face covering for women in government offices “for security reasons”.
The niqab is a veil worn by Muslim women that covers the whole face apart from the eyes as a sign of modesty and a symbol of religious faith.
When Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed announced he was banning people from wearing the full face veil, called the niqab, in public institutions, he said this was for security reasons.
While he didn’t divulge further, the decision follows an attack by a suicide bomber from so-called Daesh group, who blew himself up in the capital Tunis on Tuesday.
Witnesses said the suicide bomber was disguised in a niqab, but the interior ministry denied this.
Tunisia has been battling militant groups since an uprising overthrew President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. — NNN-AGENCIES
