Sri Lanka on Saturday announced the ban on burqas and the closure of more than 1,000 Islamic schools in the country, according to the Associated Press.
“The burqa has a direct impact on national security,” Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara said of the full-body suit worn by some Muslim women.
He added: “It is a sign of religious extremism that has recently emerged. We will definitely ban it.”
Weerasekara said he signed a document on Friday that would advance the burka measure to the Council of Ministers for approval. He also spoke about the closure of Islamic schools at madrassa, citing his lack of adherence to national education policy, according to Reuters.
According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka, the island country in South Asia officially recognizes four religions: Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity.
The country’s population is 9.7% Muslim, compared to 70.2% Buddhist, 12.6% Hindu and 7.4% Christian.
The report states that Sri Lankan government officials practiced “systematic discrimination against religious minorities, especially Muslims and converts to ‘free’ Christian groups (non-denominational and evangelical)”.
The last time the burqa was banned in Sri Lanka was in 2019, after Islamic militants killed more than 250 people after bombing churches and hotels, according to Reuters.
Other countries have also banned the burqa in recent years, including Switzerland and Denmark.