Sri Lanka’s ban on Burkas amidst Pandemic

Sri Lanka's Public Security Minister, Sarath Weerasekara said, signed a paper on Friday seeking approval of the ministers' cabinet to ban the Muslim woman's face veils. And also to ban about 1000 schools that teach Islamic knowledge.

Amidst a global pandemic, where you are fined for not wearing a mask, this is double standards.

Recently, a law passed forcing the dead bodies to be cremated if it was due to Covid19. After many questions, the government's reason was to stop the spreading of the Covid19 virus. Yet the World Health Organisation clearly stated that 'people who have died from covid can be buried or cremated. Meaning it is safe to do either.
The majority of Muslims, Christians, and many others were affected by this human right violation. It is a fundamental right of a human to choose how he wants his body to be disposed of after death. And after many protests and after immense international pressure, the law was finally repealed.

The Muslim minority of Sri Lanka has their fundamental rights questioned by these successive laws against them.

Soon after this, on the month of Women's Day, the law banning face veil is now discussed. Throughout history, the government, men, and even other women are told how to dress.

We are discussing what is appropriate for a woman to wear. We are making judgments about what their clothing says about them in the present society. When really a woman is not her clothes, she is the person inside.

The Sri Lankan government has justified its ban by saying it is for national security reasons. Yet when looking at the Islamic population of Sri Lanka, it accounts for a mere 10% of a Buddhist majority population (*international business times).

When discussing this diverse and challenging topic within an organization meeting, we found that the hijab and burkas were held at different levels of importance from our various places across the world. For example, in the UK, the perspective was that most Muslim women wore coverings, whereas, in India, it was felt that it was the complete opposite, and then again in Iran, hijabs and Manto are required by law.

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