Women in a Muslim-majority country in Central Asia would have to pay fines if caught wearing the niqab as their government passes a new law banning the religious garment, calling it “alien to our society“ that could hide “attackers in disguise.“
Kyrgyzstan has become the latest country in the region to ban the Islamic long garment that covers the body, hair, and face except the eyes. The ban, effective February 1st, imposes a hefty fine of 20,000 Kyrgyz som (equivalent to $230) on women who are caught wearing the niqab in public places.
The ban on the niqab is part of the broader amendments to the country’s Religious Sphere Act, which was signed into law by Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov. While the amendments to the law do not explicitly mention the niqab, locally known as "parandzha,” they ban "clothing that makes it impossible to identify a person in government offices and public places.”
This is a euphemism commonly used to refer to the Islamic niqab. However, face coverings required as part of work or worn for medical purposes are exempt from the ban.
Kyrgyz lawmakers and state-backed religious authorities insist the ban does not extend to the Islamic hijab, a religious headscarf that covers the head and neck but leaves the head visible.
Kyrgyzstan remains the only country in Central Asia that allows hijabs to be worn in schools and workplaces.
"There will be no restrictions on the head scarf. Our mothers and sisters have always worn head scarves as part of our traditions and religion." Kyrgyz parliament speaker Nurlanbek Shakiev told fellow lawmakers when he presented the bill last year.
The niqab is common in many Arab Gulf states and other Muslim-majority countries. Although there is no tradition of wearing the niqab in Kyrgyzstan, the Islamic garment has become increasingly popular among conservative Kyrgyz women in recent years.
There has also been an intense debate over the niqab in the ex-Soviet, Central Asian country for years. Its growing popularity prompted a state-backed campaign called “Where Are We Headed?“ nearly a decade ago.
In 2023, Kyrgyz lawmaker Sharapatkan Mazhitova spearheaded another campaign against the hijab after she visited the southern region of Osh. She said she was shocked to see several women in the region wearing the niqab.
"Every fourth woman in Osh wears the niqab, and their number is growing by the day," Mazhitova claimed during a session in parliament.
Her campaign also targeted men’s long beards, which are widely seen as a sign of religious conservatism. She called on the Kyrgyz government to ban the niqab and long beards, where Mazhitova described them as "security" threats.
Kyrgyz lawmakers argued the ban is necessary for security purposes, so people’s faces can be seen and individuals can be identified. The state-backed Kyrgyz Muslim Spiritual Directorate also stated that "the hijab is obligatory [for Muslim women], but the niqab is not."
But opponents of the ban say it will deprive women of their freedom to choose what they want to wear, and it will also alienate those who wear the niqab.
Female Islamic clothing, as well as long beards, have long been the focus of government campaigns and public debates in Central Asia, where staunchly secular governments fear the rise of Islamism. Many of Kyrgyzstan’s neighbors have banned Islamic garments in public places and have even conducted raids in the streets and bazaars to round up men sporting long beards and forced them to shave them off.
