The Sri Lankan government is actively considering a proposal to ban burqa in the country. This controversial move, which is likely to pit Sri Lanka’s minority Muslim community against the ruling Sinhalese Buddhist majority government, has been initiated by public security minister Retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara. In his brilliant book on Sri Lanka, “Upon A Sleepless Isle”, journalist Andrew …
Sri Lanka will soon ban the burqa or face veil, a Cabinet Minister said on Saturday, as he announced the Rajapaksa administration’s latest policy decision impacting the minority Muslim community. Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara said authorities would henceforth use the controversial Prevention of Terrorism law — that human rights defenders have termed ‘draconian’— to deal with religious extremism, with …