Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has banned the niqab Muslim face covering for women in government offices “for security reasons”, AFP news agency quotes his office as saying.
The niqab is a veil worn by Muslim women that covers the whole face apart from the eyes as a sign of modesty and a symbol of religious faith.
![Women wearing niqab](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/240/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2019/7/5/b398b2c1-2faa-4e37-a4c3-555760539d6c.jpg 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/320/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2019/7/5/b398b2c1-2faa-4e37-a4c3-555760539d6c.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/400/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2019/7/5/b398b2c1-2faa-4e37-a4c3-555760539d6c.jpg 400w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/480/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2019/7/5/b398b2c1-2faa-4e37-a4c3-555760539d6c.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/512/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2019/7/5/b398b2c1-2faa-4e37-a4c3-555760539d6c.jpg 512w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/624/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2019/7/5/b398b2c1-2faa-4e37-a4c3-555760539d6c.jpg 624w)
Full or partial bans are also in place in some European countries including France, Austria and Bulgaria.