{"id":611139,"date":"2019-04-29T09:14:29","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T09:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"
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Sri Lanka has banned"},"modified":"2019-04-29T09:14:29","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T09:14:29","slug":"sri-lanka-attacks-face-coverings-banned-after-easter-bloodshed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/29\/sri-lanka-attacks-face-coverings-banned-after-easter-bloodshed\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka attacks: Face coverings banned after Easter bloodshed"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Sri Lanka has banned face coverings in public, following a spate of suicide attacks on Easter Sunday that killed at least 250 people and injured hundreds.<\/p>\n

President Maithruipala Sisirsena said he was using an emergency law to impose the restriction from Monday.<\/p>\n

Any face garment which \u201chinders identification\u201d will be banned to ensure national security, his office said.<\/p>\n

The niqab and burka \u2013 worn by Muslim women \u2013 were not specifically named.<\/p>\n

The move is perceived as targeting the garments, however.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka remains on high alert eight days after Islamist attacks that hit churches and hotels.<\/p>\n

Dozens of suspects have been arrested, but local officials warned that more militants remained at large.<\/p>\n

How many people are affected?<\/h2>\n

Sri Lanka has a sizeable and centuries-old Muslim population \u2013 out of 21 million, just under 10% are Muslim.<\/p>\n

Only a small number of women are thought to wear the face-covering niqab, or the burka \u2013 a one-piece veil that covers the face and body.<\/p>\n

Last week a Sri Lankan MP had proposed a ban on women wearing the burqa, saying it should be outlawed on security grounds.<\/p>\n

According to news outlet India Today,\u00a0the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama, an organisation of Muslim clerics in Sri Lanka, had also asked women to avoid wearing face coverings.<\/p>\n

Source: BBC<\/p>\n

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