Cairo University, one of Egypt’s leading public universities, has banned women wearing the niqab from teaching and lecturing at the university.

The ban was issued by Doctor Gaber Nassar, the President of Cairo University, reported Aswat Masriya Arabic.

In a statement, Nassar stated that the decision was made to improve education and communication between students and their instructors and to benefit the wider public.

According to Cairo University, the ban is now currently in force.

 The niqab, which is not as commonly worn in Egypt as the hijab, consists of fabric that covers a woman’s head and a cloth that covers her face but leaves the eyes visible.

This is not the first time a university has tackled the issue of the niqab. In 2008, debate ensued after Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, the leading Sunni Islamic school in the world, banned the niqab in all-female classrooms and dormitories.

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