Burqa Ban: Chinese Officials Prohibit Muslim Garb to Cut Extremism

Chinese authorities have banned the burqa in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang, China. In this autonomous northwest region, roughly 45 percent of the population is Muslim.

If the latest law is enforced, Urumqi women will no longer be able to wear their traditional Islamic garment in public. According to the Washington Times, the law was passed to encourage the city residents to wear "more colorful and traditional dresses." On top of that, the ban was passed as a means to discourage extremists.

"The restriction comes as China is stepping up curbs on religious clothing amid increasing nervousness about Islamist extremism. Beijing blames Islamist separatists for several deadly bomb and knife attacks that have killed hundreds of people over the past two years or so," according to Reuters.

The ban on burqas was introduced last month and approved by the Urumqi parliament's Standing Committee. During the approval process, Xinjiang experts warned officials that a ban could potentially "further stigmatize the region's minority Uighurs," the Independent wrote.

"The Party has drawn a one-to-one link between these styles of head, face and body covering and religious extremist thought and violence," James Leibold, an expert on China's ethnic policy from Melbourne's La Trobe University, commented. "It's a very crude and counterproductive way of trying to deal with the problem of terrorism."

The exact start date for the ban is currently unclear. China is not the first place in the world to ban head-to-toe burqas. France and Belgium have similar bans as well.