Egypt’s Administrative Court of the State Council ruled to accept a lawsuit to suspend the ban on wearing the niqab in schools in form, while rejecting it in substance.
Two Egyptian citizens, Haitham Abdel Mageed and Ashraf Abdel Ghani, filed a lawsuit demanding the suspension of the Minister of Education’s decision to ban the niqab in schools starting from the new academic year.
The Administrative Court of the State Council accepted the lawsuit in form and rejected it in substance. The court had earlier decided to extend the judgment deadline in the lawsuit filed in this regard, and decided to reserve the case for a later date.
The Ministry of Education in Egypt issued a decision last September specifying the school uniform requirements, which included “banning the wearing of the niqab in schools,” sparking widespread controversy.
According to the decision, “wearing head coverings for female students is optional, provided that it does not cover the face.”
The ministry emphasized that “if a student chooses to wear the hijab, the guardian must be aware of their daughter’s choice, and that her decision was made based on her own desire without any pressure or coercion from anyone other than the guardian.”
