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Sunday, 31 January 2010 - 15 Safar 1431 H
Egypt's veil wearers see it as barrier to harassment
CAIRO - Female students at Cairo University are defying religious and state efforts to ban the controversial niqab from schools and colleges, saying that wearing the controversial face veil is a religious obligation that also protects against sexual harassment.
"I wear the niqab essentially to avoid harassment on the street and on public transport," said law student Marwa Mohammed, 19, her eyes visible only through the slits in the black veil that covers her entire face.
But if conditions changed and she was not subjected to harassment would she take it off?
She would not, because "the veil gives me respect, and people look at me differently.
She implied that sexual harassment would exist as long as young men looking for work and housing remained frustrated in their efforts.
"What will change? The cost of living? Unemployment? Or the excessively high cost of housing?" Marwa asked, her kohl-stained eyes giving away a hidden smile.
"As long as young people don't have the means to get married, harassment will continue," she added.
The hijab, the head scarf that covers the hair and neck, is worn by most Muslim women in conservative Egypt, and religious authorities say that wearing it is an obligation of the faith.
But the niqab, which has been gaining in popularity, has been driving a wedge between women such as Marwa and Egypt's highest religious authorities.
In October, Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, Grand Imam of the prestigious Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, ignited a heated debate when he said the niqab was merely a tradition not linked to religion, and that women would be banned from wearing it in schools and universities.
But Wednesday, an Egyptian court caved in to opposition to the religious ruling and placed a stay on the ban. Now, religious authorities who oppose the niqab and women who favor it are polarized over the issue.
The niqab-wearing students at Cairo University say they are adhering to a precept and repeat what seems to have become their mantra: "Of course the niqab is an obligation."
It is an Islamic duty, "particularly in the times we live in, where sexual harassment is so common," explained 18-year-old Aya, who studies Arabic literature and has been wearing the niqab for three months. - AFP
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