Plans by the Senegalese government to prohibit women from wearing full-body veils, amid growing security concerns, have sparked debate within the majority-Muslim country.
Interior Minister Abdoulaye Diallo said on Tuesday that the need to prevent potential attacks was behind a government’s decision to outlaw the full-body veil, which leaves only the eyes uncovered.
“The full veil is not a religious affair and it does not represent our culture,” Diallo told local media, echoing comments made earlier in the week by Senegalese President Macky Sall.
Speaking at a peace and security conference in the capital Dakar, Sall said the veil was a security threat because suicide bombers have used it in the past to hide explosives and carry out attacks.
“For security reasons, all Senegalese people must support the president in this sense,” Diallo said.
Escalating concerns
An estimated 94 percent of the Senegalese population is Muslim. Most people are members of one of the four main Sufi brotherhoods, which are said to limit the influence of Salafi groups in the West African country.
Yet lately, there have been rising fears that groups like the Nigeria-based Boko Haram are finding sympathisers in Senegal, prompting authorities to launch a security crackdown against people with suspected ties with armed groups.
At least four religious leaders were arrested in the capital Dakar, as well as in the city of Kaolack, in recent weeks.