The Niqab Ban

The Niqab ban is a controversial trend that has recently caught a lot of attention and heat. Even in 2026, some countries have proposed this ban and are awaiting approval, such as Portugal’s parliamentary approval in October 2025, which is pending the presidential signature. Italy’s proposed bill from October 2025 is still under debate, while Denmark announced on 6 January 2026 a proposal to further extend its existing public ban to schools and universities.

This ban has been spreading for a while, with Syria being the first to do such a ban in 2010 for universities, and their reason was that it’s a counter to secular and academic principles (which does not make any sense and seems almost like Western propaganda)
Here is a list of countries exercising this ban and their scope:

Misinformation About Religion:

In Islam or Christianity, the niqab or covering of the face is not necessary and not even an obligatory mandate, as it’s a necessity, including hands. (discussed in depth in The Hijab Ideology, click here check that out) So, binding this to secularism is a bit confusing because this is not bound to any religion, and here is where it gets controversial, because now this purely seems to oppress women on what to wear and what not to wear, and this is the real gender inequality because there are no such laws for men.
Here are some verses from the Quran:

• (Quran 33:59, Surah Al-Ahzab) O Prophet! Ask your wives, daughters, and believing women to draw their cloaks over their bodies. In this way, they are more likely to be recognized as virtuous and not harassed. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
• As mentioned in the ayah, it says explicitly to cover the bodies, and the word cloak is used to emphasize covering the body’s shape as well as the skin.

• (Quran 24:31, Surah An-Nur)And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not to reveal their adornments except what appears typically. Let them draw their veils over their chests, and not reveal their ˹hidden˺ adornments except to their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons or sisters’ sons, their fellow women, the female servants they own, male attendants with no desire, or children too young to understand women’s private parts. And let them not stomp their feet, drawing attention to their hidden adornments. Turn to Allah in repentance altogether, O believers, so that you may be successful.
• This verse really ties everything together, proving that Islam only says to cover what’s necessary, such as the body and the hair, as these are the adornments of a female, leaving face and hands as what appears typically, and is a necessity. Overall, Islam does not say to cover the face with a niqab or anything; that is the female’s own choice.

Now, let’s debunk this with the Bible:

• 1 Corinthians 11:4-6: “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is the same thing as having a shaved head. For if a woman will not cover her head, she should cut off her hair. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, she should cover her head.”
• Just as in the Quran, the Bible also focuses on hair rather than the face, since hair is an adornment of the female body and thus should be covered in public. No such mandate for the face here.

• 1 Timothy 2:9-10: “I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”
• Here also, the same mandate to cover the hair and the body, but nothing for the face.

So, tying this ban to promote secularism is complete nonsense because if secularism is about not covering the face, then that’s also not in any of the most widely spread religions, which also ties this more closely to modern oppression.

Conclusion:

To conclude, even in the Quran and the Bible, there are no such mandates to cover the face, but it is mentioned to live peacefully and to obey the law, so if your country’s law says not to wear a niqab, then it is recommended for you not wear one, as the niqab is a choice, not mandatory.