Egypt Bans Niqab For Cairo University Teaching Staff

 This file photo shows a woman standing outside Cairo University where women staff are banned from wearing the niqab (AFP)
This file photo shows a woman standing outside Cairo University where women staff are banned from wearing the niqab (AFP)
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Egypt Bans Niqab For Cairo University Teaching Staff

 This file photo shows a woman standing outside Cairo University where women staff are banned from wearing the niqab (AFP)
This file photo shows a woman standing outside Cairo University where women staff are banned from wearing the niqab (AFP)

A top Egyptian court backed a decision introduced in 2015 by a previous head of Cairo University to ban female academic staff from wearing the niqab. The ruling is final and cannot be subject to appeal.

Egypt’s official news agency said on Monday the Administrative Judiciary Court rejected an appeal, filed by 80 niqabi researchers at Cairo University, against a previous decision banning them from the face veil on campus.

Niqab, a piece of cloth worn by some Muslim women, covers the entire face except for the eyes.

Egypt's State Commissioners Authority (SCA) has recommended upholding the ban decision.

It said niqab affects the education process and communication between students and the teaching staff.

Accordingly, the Administrative Judiciary Court rejected appeals against a 2016 lower court verdict banning the niqab on grounds that it impeded interaction between students and teachers.

The court based its ruling on article 96 of the law regulating universities and which obliges teaching staff to adhere to university traditions.

It said, “If the general principle is that the public employee has the freedom to choose the dress he wears during his work provided that the dress has appropriate respect for the dignity of the job, then this freedom may carry restrictions stipulated by laws and regulations, administrative decisions, administrative custom or traditions of the job."

The court concluded that some female faculty members wearing the niqab during lectures do not achieve direct communication with students, in violation of the law.

The case goes back to 2015, when the ban was introduced by a previous head of Cairo University, two years after the 2013 military ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Cairo University current head Mohamed Othman Elkhosht was quoted by local media on Monday as saying his institution respected decisions taken by the judiciary but did not specify if the ban would be enforced.



Syrian Forces Enter Sweida after Deadly Clashes

Syrian government forces deploy at Mazraa village on the outskirts of the city of Sweida, southern Syria, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian government forces deploy at Mazraa village on the outskirts of the city of Sweida, southern Syria, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
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Syrian Forces Enter Sweida after Deadly Clashes

Syrian government forces deploy at Mazraa village on the outskirts of the city of Sweida, southern Syria, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian government forces deploy at Mazraa village on the outskirts of the city of Sweida, southern Syria, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government forces entered the city of Sweida on Tuesday, the interior ministry said, aiming to end clashes that have killed nearly 100 people.

The southern city had been under the control of armed factions from the Druze minority, whose religious leaders said they had approved the deployment of Damascus' troops and called on fighters to hand over their weapons.

A curfew was to be imposed on the southern city in a bid to halt the violence, which erupted at the weekend and has since spread across Sweida governorate.

Government forces said they intervened to separate Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters but ended up taking control of several Druze areas around Sweida, an AFP correspondent reported.

Military columns were seen advancing toward Sweida on Tuesday morning, with heavy artillery deployed nearby.

The defense ministry said later that they had entered the city, and urged people to "stay home and report any movements of outlaw groups".

An AFP correspondent heard explosions and gunshots as soldiers moved into Sweida.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported 99 people killed since the fighting erupted on Sunday -- 60 Druze, including four civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters, 14 security personnel and seven unidentified people in military uniforms.

The defense ministry reported 18 deaths among the ranks of the armed forces.