The regent of Central Lombok in Indonesia, Moh. Suhaili Fadhil Thohir, has imposed “a new dress code for female civil servants.” It is now mandatory that all female Muslim civil servants wear the niqab — the “Islamic face covering instead of a face mask as part of the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. He also suggested holding a contest for the best niqab.”
The coronavirus pandemic is merely being used as an excuse to apply the Sharia. The Quran states that Muslim women must be completely covered (Quran 24:31 and Quran 33:59).
Months ago, Sharia police in Indonesia’s Aceh province told an all-female flogging squad to “have no mercy for those who violate Allah’s law.”
“COVID-19 doesn’t excuse Lombok’s discriminatory dress code,” by Elaine Pearson, Coconuts, July 8, 2020:
A new dress code for female civil servants in Indonesia’s Central Lombok regency should concern all Indonesians.
On June 26 the Central Lombok regent, Moh. Suhaili Fadhil Thohir, instructed all female Muslim civil servants to wear a “cadar” (or “niqab”) Islamic face covering instead of a face mask as part of the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. He also suggested holding a contest for the best niqab.
Women all over Central Lombok started purchasing niqabs. On July 3, for the first time, dozens of female civil servants participated in their weekly morning assembly wearing niqabs or full-face veils. Thohrir inspected female civil servants, mentioning the units one by one – public service, transportation, education – and their compliance with the niqab requirement. He praised the units that had overwhelmingly complied, while asking others “to do better” when some staff members wore long pants instead of long dresses with their niqabs.
Compelling Muslim women to wear a niqab to work is discriminatory. Male civil servants and non-Muslim women face no such restrictions on their attire and instead are encouraged to wear face masks to protect themselves from the virus that causes COVID-19. There is no medical evidence to suggest that a niqab is as effective a barrier as a face mask to protect one from the coronavirus.
In the Middle East, where a few countries have dress codes, Human Rights Watch is not aware of any that impose the niqab as mandatory face covering during the pandemic. This makes Indonesia an outlier in the dubious practice.
Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has identified hundreds of discriminatory national and local regulations in Indonesia, made in the name of Sharia (Islamic law), that violate women’s rights. These include forcing women and girls to wear the hijab (or headscarf) in government buildings, schools or public places, curfews, and other restrictions against women and girls….