Editor's Pick: Sri Lanka's burqa ban

The Hindu Newsletter - Newsletter - subject [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Sunday 14, March 2021 [alt_text]( Editor's Pick The larger context of Sri Lanka's burqa ban [alt_text]( (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) Sri Lanka is set to [ban the wearing of burqa](, the Islamic face veil. The order has been signed by Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara and will come into effect once cleared by the Cabinet. This ban comes along with the move to shut down over 1000 madrasas or Muslim religious schools, and the announcement that the [Prevention of Terrorism Act]( will be used to target religious extremism. The PTA, which came to force in 1979 and has been used to deadly effect in countering the Tamil separatist movement on the island, empowers the government to detain suspects up to two years and "deradicalise" them. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promulgated new rules under the Act on Friday to bring religious extremism within its ambit. The law has been deemed draconian by human rights activists and organisations worldwide and the present Sri Lankan government had said that it will replace that law but has failed to do so. Sri Lanka has a history of tensions between the majority Sinhalas and the Muslim community. Riots in 2018 and 2019 have targeted the minority community. The current government of President Gotabaya and his brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power in November 2019 promising to target [religious extremism](. This was in the wake of the [Easter Sunday bombings]( in April that year by IS-inspired terrorists that killed 279 people. There was a [burqa ban put in place after the bombings](, which was withdrawn after international criticism. Minister Weerasekara has justified the new ban saying that the burqa is a symbol of religious extremism that came to the country only recently. With the ban, Sri Lanka joins the list of countries worldwide that have legislated against the burqa in particular or any face veils in public. While the burqa is worn only by a small section of Sri Lankan Muslim women, it is the larger context in which this law is set to come into force, and the implications of the PTA being trained on the Muslim community, that make this story important. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz The four new labour codes, the rules of which were passed by Parliament in 2019 and 2020, will replace how many Central labour laws? 1. 7 2. 17 3. 23 4. 29 To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( The Big Story [Coronavirus | Maharashtra continues to account for over 60% of active cases]( [alt_text]( From the Front Page [alt_text]( [Sri Lanka announces burqa ban, to shut 1,000 madrasas]( [alt_text]( [DMK promises 75% jobs for Tamils in industries]( Profiles [alt_text]( [Tirath Singh Rawat | The surprise successor]( [alt_text]( [Andrew Cuomo | From zenith to nadir]( Literary Review [‘]( Many a Happy Accident: Recol](lections of a Life[’]( review Harish Khare [‘A Road Well Travelled’ review]( M.P. Nathanael You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0bfb7jyzbf2f90kaup33rtbysa8hkub@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. If you can't see the mailer, please [click here.]( Group Sites [The Hindu]( | [இந்து தமிழ் திசை]( | [Business Line]( | [BL on Campus]( | [Sportstar]( | [Frontline]( | [The Hindu Centre]( | [Images]( | [roofandfloor]( | [Classifieds]( Copyright @ 2021 ,THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. [About Us]( | [Contact Us]( | [Digital Subscription](