Police in Kyrgyzstan have issued hefty fines and official warnings to hundreds of women wearing the niqab, a face veil that is banned in the Muslim-majority country.
At least 29 women were each fined 20,000 soms ($230) for violating the niqab ban, which came into force earlier this year, police said.
The women were stopped during raids in the southern Osh region and the southwestern Jalal-Abat Province, where local governments, police, and security services have been conducting raids to enforce the ban.
Some 300 women wearing the niqab in public were stopped by officers in the first two days of the raids in Osh in April, according to regional police.
Kyrgyzstan adopted a law this year that effectively bans the niqab, which covers the whole face expect for the eyes. The law imposes a fine for wearing the garment in public.
The law, signed by President Sadyr Japarov, does not explicitly mention the niqab, locally known as "parandzha." But it outlaws "clothing that makes it impossible to identify a person in government offices and public spaces" -- a euphemism often used in Central Asia to describe the niqab.
The ban does not extend to the hijab, the Islamic head scarf that covers the hair and neck but leaves the face visible.
The niqab has become popular in Kyrgyzstan, especially in Osh and Jalal-Abat, over the past decade. The raids have primarily been focused on these two provinces.
Raising Awareness Of The Niqab Ban
The campaign to enforce the niqab ban has included raids on the streets as well as outreach and awareness-raising efforts since April, according to regional authorities.
Law-enforcement agents, including female police officers, have handed out leaflets and held meetings with residents to explain the law.
Large TV screens placed in public spaces in Osh region's Kara-suu, Uzgen, and Nukat districts played video clips informing people about the ban and the fine.
Authorities said they spoke with about 300 women wearing niqabs in a two-day raid in Osh's provincial capital, Osh City. Some 80 veiled women were stopped in another two-day raid that took place there in July.
The women were given warnings and leaflets, according to the Osh police department, which said the Osh city court, the regional office of the State Committee for National Security, and the state Agency for Religious Affairs and Interethnic Relations had all been actively involved in the campaign.
According to police reports, 22 of the 29 women who were given fines were residents of Osh City.
The other seven were stopped at outdoor locations in the neighboring Jalal-Abat region during Operation Niqab in August.
Security Threat?
The niqab's increasing popularity in Kyrgyzstan has raised concern among some local politicians and public figures who call it a security threat. Others argue that the niqab is not traditionally part of Kyrgyz culture.
Parliament and Kyrgyz media have debated the niqab's place in society for over a decade.
The country's state-backed Kyrgyz Muslim Spiritual Directorate publicly supports the government's stance. It states that "the hijab is obligatory [for Muslim women], but the niqab is not."
But critics of the ban say it alienates women who choose to wear the niqab and restricts their freedom.
The niqab has been outlawed in other Central Asian states that have also banned the Islamic hijab in schools and workplaces. Kyrgyzstan is the only country in the region that allows the hijab in schools and government offices.
