Sri Lanka has taken a significant step towards banning the burka and other face coverings in public, on grounds of national security.
The move comes nearly two years after a wave of co-ordinated attacks on hotels and churches on Easter Sunday.
Suicide bombers targeted Catholic churches and tourist hotels, killing more than 250 people in April 2019.
The Islamic State militant group said it had carried out the attacks.
Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara said: “the burka was a sign of religious extremism that came about recently”.
He added that it was “affecting national security” and that a permanent ban was overdue.
He said everyone had a right to wear a face covering regardless of their faith:”That has to be seen from a rights point of view, and not just a religious point of view.”
BBC