A Tunisian interior ministry’s decision to tighten checks on people wearing niqab (full-face veil), after claims it was being used by fugitives, has stirred debates and raised concerns from lawyers as targeting women wearing the attire.

“I am not against this procedure, but I want them to check identities without publishing a press release,” Imen Triki, a lawyer representing Islamist clients, told Tunisia Live on Monday, February 17.

“What the Ministry of Interior should have done is circulate an internal memo rather than a [public] statement.”

The controversy surrounding niqab erupted after an incident on February 10 in which a man wearing a niqab and described by officials as a “Salafist” was arrested in Ariana, a neighborhood in northern Tunis.

After the incident, Interior Ministry announced that it will apply strict measures against any person who dons a niqab.

“The Ministry of Interior will strictly control every person wearing niqab within the framework of the law,” the ministry said in press release on its Facebook page.

For Triki, the authorities’ scrutiny should not be focused solely on a specific group.

“The control should be done to all criminals, and not just those wearing the niqab,” she said.

Anouar Ouled Ali, another Tunisian lawyer representing Islamist clients, has also raised some concerns about the ministry’s policy.

“From a legal perspective, the law allows police officers to check the identities of people in terms defined by law,” Ouled Ali told Tunisia Live.

He suggested that the ministry provide for women to check identities of niqab wearers when necessary.

When there is no woman among the police officers present, a pedestrian could be used to check the identity, he added.

Mufti’s Support

Amid escalating criticism, Tunisia’s mufti, Sheikh Hamda Saeed, declared his support for banning niqab on security grounds.

Sheikh Saeed told reporters on Monday that sect community leaders had the right to limit things that are permissible if they find this to be in the best interests of the nation.

Yet for Safa, a Tunisian woman who wears niqab, the procedure taken by the ministry could be acceptable only if it is implemented in a way that it does not threaten her dignity.

“I feel offended when a man asks me [to uncover my face] to reveal who I am,” Safa said.

She expressed fear that the announced policy could be escalated to prevent people like her from freely moving in public areas.

Under Ben Ali’s 23-year rule, Tunisians were banned from wearing hijab, an obligatory code of dress in Islam, in public places.

In April, 2011, Tunisian women were allowed to wear hijab for the first time in identity card.

The niqab has become increasingly popular in the past three years, since the collapse of the former Tunisian President Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali’s regime in 2011.

While hijab is an obligatory code of dress for Muslim women, the majority of Muslim scholars agree that a woman is not obliged to wear the face veil.

Scholars believe it is up to women to decide whether to take on the veil or burka, a loose outfit covering the whole body from head to toe and wore by some Muslim women.

http://www.onislam.net/english/news/africa/469373-tunisians-question-proposed-niqab-ban.html

https://www.islamstory.com/index.php/en/artical/17009/Tunisia-Mulls-Niqab-Ban