Numbers of niqabi academic staff at Cairo University drops

CAIRO – 5 April 2017: President of Cairo University, Gaber Nassar, said he did not ban the university’s academic staff from wearing the niqab, however, it got banned during lectures.

On Thursday, Nassar claimed during a live talk-show called Akher Al Nahar that the number of niqabis (Muslim women who wear niqab) at Cairo University has dropped from 108 to around 20.

On the first day of the 2015/16 academic year, Cairo University banned its academic staff from wearing niqab. The decision- which was put into effect on September 29- came “in order to facilitate communicating with students and to provide an appropriate educational platform.”

The Administrative Court in January 2016 agreed that Nassar’s decision does not violate the law, but rather it is considered for the public interest. According to the Administrative Court, banning the niqab will prevent entry of extremists to the campus, while communication with students will be eased.

Furthermore, in October 2016, Nassar decided to eliminate the “religion” identity category from the university’s application documents and any other papers issued by the university, as inquiry into religious identity does not align with current regulations and laws.