Tunisian Court Strikes Down Ban on Wearing Muslim Veil

An Administrative Court judge in Tunisia has held that Circular No. 102, issued in 1986, that prohibits Muslim women from wearing the veil, is unconstitutional. Magharebia yesterday reported that the ruling issued last week calls on the Ministry of Education to reinstate teacher Saiida Adali who had been suspended for wearing a veil to work. The court also called for the Ministry to pay Adali damages. The ban on the veil was originally adopted twenty years ago to prevent the spread of radical Islam in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. The Administrative Court, however, ruled that the ban "interferes in personal freedoms, since such dress expresses distinctively cultural, religious and intellectual belonging and reflects personal inclination."