EGYPT: Nurses and veils

In a new bid to curtail Islamist influence in society, the Egyptian government is on the verge of passing legislation to prohibit nurses in public hospitals from covering their faces. The proposed law would affect nearly 10,000 nurses who wear the niqab, or face veil.

The Health Ministry considered the move after a poll showed that 90% of patients disapproved of nurses who covered their faces. Officials also contend that the niqab stands as an obstacle to interaction between patient and nurse. The decision has reignited the debate over whether Muslim women are obligated to cover their faces. Most scholars insist that it is not mandatory, but some hard-line clerics believe the niqab is required.

The matter is not strictly religious. The veil has long been a bone of contention between Islamists and the government of President Hosni Mubarak. There appears to be a campaign within the government targeting the face veil; the minister of religious endowments has challenged the veil in the past. The Egyptian media report that Islamist lawmakers, who occupy one-fifth of the People's Assembly, have vowed to prevent the imposition of any restrictions on the niqab. If the legislation is passed, it will be implemented next month.

— Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo

Photo: Muslim women in Egypt wearing the niqab, or full face veil, walk to Friday prayers at a mosque in Cairo. Credit: Amr Nabil /AFP

Comments

[Labiba Boyd]

This article does not mention that more than 80% of Egyptians strongly disapprove of the niqab, which is exported to Egypt from Saudi Arabia's Wahaabi Islamists. Egyptian Law enforcement officers hate the niqab because some men have worn the niqab and committed robberies and can't be identified. Parents hate the niqab because they can't tell if a person wearing a niqab and walking with their teenage daughter is a man or woman. Doormen in Cairo hate the niqab because they can't tell who is going in or out of their buildings. Ms. El Hennawy, if you read any Egyptian fiction, other than your own, you would realize that most modern Egyptian novels portray the niqab as a costume used by many prostitutes in Cairo.
Ms. Elhanawy continues to focus on the negative and her choice of photograph with the article is unfortunate because it does not show how normal passers by look at people wearing the niqab.