University in Egypt embroiled in battle of the veil

(AFP) 21 October 2006 HELWAN, Egypt - Egyptian students whose faces are completely hidden behind the veil have been banished from the residence halls at Helwan University under threat of expulsion in what could be called the battle of the veil. ‘They say nothing to indecent girls, but we -- the daughters of Islam -- are being hounded,' protests 21-year-old student Iman Ahmed. Only her eyes are showing through the slit in her black face veil, called a niqab. Even though the vast majority of female Muslim students already wear the headscarf, known as a hijab, those who chose the more radical cover up of the face veil were told to take it off or quit the student digs.

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