A leading Egyptian university has banned female students and teaching staff from wearing Islamic veils during the winter examinations session, which will start in January, Al-Ahram newspaper said on Tuesday.
"President of the [Ain Shams] university Ahmed Zaki Badr prohibited the wearing of a niqab inside the university during the [exams] session," the university administration was quoted by the paper as saying.
According to the document, the ban "concerns not only female students of all years of studying and all departments, but also the teaching and other university staff."
Ain Shams University has become the second Egyptian university to introduce a partial ban on wearing Islamic veils. The move is widely seen as part of the Egyptian leadership's crackdown on resurgent ultra-conservative elements in the country.
In October, another prestigious university, Al Azhar, banned female students and teaching staff from wearing veils in lectures when no men are present, as well as in female university hostels. The ban was introduced after Egypt's top Islamic cleric Muhammad Sayed Tantawi said the garment has "nothing to do with Islam" and is considered in Egypt to be traditional wear and not mandatory because of religious beliefs.
Most women in Egypt wear headscarves, which do not hide the face. However, wearing a full veil has become more common in recent years.
CAIRO, December 1 (RIA Novosti)
