What is changing.
Reporting on niqab from news outlets worldwide, summarised with a link to the original. Legislation, court rulings, research and public debate.
11 October 2026
Azerbaijan tightens school dress rules as families report girls refused entry
In September 2026 Azerbaijan's Cabinet barred state-school pupils from clothing "inconsistent with the principle of secularism." The text never says hijab, but some outlets and critics read it as a headscarf rule, and families report girls being turned away from class.
Read the summary11 October 2026
Saudi nanochemist Najlaa Al-Radadi's achievements draw attention amid online niqab debate
Najlaa Al-Radadi, a professor of inorganic chemistry and nanotechnology at Taibah University in Madinah, has been included in a Stanford/Elsevier bibliometric ranking and holds several chemistry patents. On 9 and 10 October, users on X highlighted her achievements in response to an online campaign opposing the niqab.
Read the summary11 October 2026
Bolton youth-club founder Khadija Patel receives British Citizen Award, then faces online abuse over her niqab
Khadija Patel, founder of KRIMMZ Girls Youth Club in Bolton, received a British Citizen Award at the Palace of Westminster in July 2026. Photos of her in a niqab drew abuse online, and she said people were "seeing my clothes and not seeing my work."
Read the summary11 October 2026
Michigan teacher fired over her niqab reportedly wins jury verdict of about $1.8 million
A federal judge in Michigan let Sudoos Hamood's religious accommodation claims go to trial after she was fired for refusing to remove her niqab while teaching. One outlet reports that a jury awarded her about $1.8 million in February 2026; the verdict form has not been seen, and statutory caps may have reduced the final amount.
Read the summary29 September 2026
Italy bans face coverings in schools by decree
Italy's government approved a decree on 24 September banning face coverings in schools, with €200-€1,000 fines. Parliament has 60 days to act.
Read the summary29 September 2026
A snapshot of niqab discussions on X, Sept 2026
Public X posts, 26-29 September 2026: a Saudi hashtag surge against the niqab and arguments over Italy's school decree. A snapshot, not a survey.
Read the summary9 September 2026
Egyptian school's photo of students wearing niqab was AI-generated, ministry says
An Egyptian school's Facebook post referred to "niqab compliance" among its female students and included a photo showing them all wearing niqab. The ministry said the image was generated by AI, while niqab has not been permitted under Egypt's school uniform rules since 2023.
Read the summary30 August 2026
FamilyMart made hijab part of its official dress code. An online argument followed.
Japan's second-largest convenience store chain by store count formalised its allowance for hijab into a new nationwide grooming standard on 26 August 2026, alongside a uniform redesign rolling out to roughly 16,500 stores from 1 September. The move quickly drew criticism online, along with replies pushing back against it.
Read the summary20 August 2026
A woman threatened on a London bus for wearing niqab says it happens daily
Salsabil, 21, was verbally abused and threatened with death on a London bus on 31 July 2026 for wearing niqab. She says the incident was not unusual: London's reported Islamophobic offences rose 31% over the past year.
Read the summary19 August 2026
Portugal signs a face-covering ban into law
President António José Seguro signed the ban on 18 August 2026, after parliament passed it in July. Amnesty International says it threatens several human rights. Fines reach €3,000.
Read the summary18 August 2026
Where face veils are restricted: a running list
France, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland have national restrictions. Portugal joined in August 2026. Spain restricts regionally. This list is checked periodically and dated.
Read the summary18 August 2026
Central Asia’s bans — outside the European spotlight
Four Muslim-majority states restricted the face veil between 2023 and 2025: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan — with far larger Muslim populations than the European countries that get the attention.
Read the summary18 August 2026
The UK has no ban — but the argument is live
Government policy rejects a general ban, and institutions set their own rules instead. Petitions, Reform UK, and now a Conservative Party review keep the question live without moving it into law.
Read the summary18 August 2026
Quebec extends its face-covering rules to schoolchildren
Bill 21 (2019) barred public workers from wearing religious symbols on the job. Bill 94, adopted in October 2025, requires students to uncover their faces at school. Both invoke the notwithstanding clause; the Supreme Court heard Bill 21's constitutional challenge in March 2026 and has not yet ruled.
Read the summary17 August 2026
An Egyptian preacher's niqab campaign runs into Syria's new government
A campaign distributing niqabs on Damascus University's campus drew a formal warning in June 2026. In August, the same organiser's event at a Damascus mall was blocked outright — officials called the garments "not Syrian".
Read the summary26 July 2026
A Spanish region legislates what its cities could not
Valencia's PP–Vox coalition wrote a face-covering ban into regional law in July 2026, covering hospitals, transport, schools, and public buildings, after years of municipal bans that courts found unenforceable for lack of legal backing.
Read the summary21 July 2026
Nigerian lawyer's niqab-wearing Call to Bar photos spark public discussion
A newly called Nigerian barrister's Call to Bar photos, showing her wearing a niqab together with traditional legal attire, went viral in mid-2026 — though no professional body has confirmed that she is the first.
Read the summary16 July 2026
Denmark moves to extend its ban into schools and universities
Already banned in public since 2018, Denmark's government is seeking to extend the niqab and burqa ban to educational institutions, framed as tackling "parallel societies." A bill was expected in early 2026; by July it was still advancing, not yet passed.
Read the summary28 March 2026
Dutch court orders prosecution after niqab-wearing customer was refused service
The Court of Appeal in The Hague ordered the Dutch Public Prosecution Service to prosecute a fishmonger who refused to serve a woman wearing niqab. The ruling does not decide whether discrimination occurred; that question is now for a criminal court to decide.
Read the summary7 February 2026
Niqab-wearing runner wins women's 100km ultramarathon category
Malaysian runner Mukminah Paiman won the women's category of a 100km ultramarathon, finishing in 12 hours, 4 minutes and 16 seconds. SinarPlus reported she also placed second overall, running in hijab and niqab.
Read the summary24 November 2025
An Australian senator wore a burqa to protest one — and was suspended for it
Pauline Hanson wore a burqa into the Senate chamber after being refused leave to introduce a face-covering ban bill. The Senate suspended her for seven sitting days, condemning the act as vilifying Muslim Australians.
Read the summary27 April 2021
Sri Lanka moves to ban the burqa
Cabinet approved a ban on face coverings in April 2021, two years after the Easter bombings, alongside the closure of over a thousand Islamic schools. Human Rights Watch and the ICJ called it discriminatory.
Read the summary22 October 2018
Two international rulings on France’s ban, and they disagree
The European Court of Human Rights upheld France’s ban in 2014. The UN Human Rights Committee found it violated human rights in 2018. Both rulings still stand, and each side cites the one that favours it.
Read the summary9 March 2018
An Islamic university bans the cadar — then withdraws it in a month
In February 2018 UIN Sunan Kalijaga in Yogyakarta ordered "guidance" for cadar-wearing students, with expulsion as the endpoint. After national backlash — including from the religious-affairs ministry — the rector revoked it on 10 March 2018.
Read the summary30 June 2015
When Boko Haram wore the veil to attack — West and Central Africa’s bans
Chad banned the full face veil in 2015 after a Boko Haram bombing killed 33, pre-empting the group's known pattern of using veiled bombers. Cameroon's ban followed weeks later, after veiled bombers struck there directly. Congo and Guinea followed. The justification is specific and unusual.
Read the summary6 October 2009
When al-Azhar's Grand Imam restricted niqab in all-female classrooms
In 2009 Sheikh Muḥammad Sayyid Ṭanṭāwī, then Grand Imam of al-Azhar, instructed a schoolgirl to remove her niqab and al-Azhar later restricted the wearing of niqab in its all-female classrooms and dormitories. He described the niqab as a custom rather than a religious obligation. The scope was narrow; the backlash was not.
Read the summary27 May 1985
When Malaysia itself barred the purdah — 1985
A Malaysian government ruling barred face veils for women in the civil service and Muslim university students. UPM suspended sixteen students for refusing to comply; five were barred from final examinations. PAS and ABIM offered the students free legal aid.
Read the summary