Sri Lanka ban all types of face covers burqas and masks comes into effect today. Muslim women in Sri Lanka will not be allowed to wear any form of face veils in public from Monday under new regulations announced by President Maithripala Sirisena who used emergency powers in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings. The new regulation banning any form of face covering was announced by the President on Sunday, a week after the coordinated blasts hit three churches and three luxury hotels, killing over 300 people and inuring more than 500 others. The ban is to ensure national security.. No one should obscure their faces to make identification difficult, Sirisena's office said in a statement. He took steps under the emergency regulation to prohibit the use of face coverings of all sorts which is an obstacle to ensure the identity of the people and a threat to national and public security. The order clarifies that the key criterion for establishing the identity of a person is the need to clearly expose the face, the report said. The President has taken this decision to establish a peaceful and cohesive society which does not inconvenience any community people as well as ensure national security, it added. Muslims account for 10 per cent of the population and are the second-largest minority after Hindus. Around seven per cent of Sri Lankans are Christians.
