The Administrative Court issued a ruling Sunday annulling a previous decree by the education minister banning students that wear the niqab, or Islamic face veil, from entering dormitories at Cairo’s Ain Shams University.
In handing down the verdict, the judge drew on a previous court ruling that established the right to wear the niqab as a "personal freedom" as long as the practice did not threaten public order. This ruling, the court found, renders any new ban on the niqab a violation of the national constitution.
On 27 December, the court will hear additional testimony against the minister and the university president from 15 face-veiled students.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
