After France banned veils in 2011, a French woman in her early 20s decided to fight for her niqab.
Backed by a group of Birmingham lawyers, the Pakistan-born university graduate and devout Sunni took her case to the European court of human rights, asking them to support her faith, culture and personal convictions.
But her suit was rejected in a decision handed down three months ago. And the decision has given new fuel to an already growing push across Europe to remove Muslim veils from society.
The woman, known to the court as "SAS", said neither her husband nor any member of her family pressured her to dress in the burqa and niqab – her aim was "to feel at inner peace with herself". She was happy to take it off for security checks at banks or airports, or other necessary identity checks, but wanted the right to wear it around town. [The Sydney Morning Herald] Read more
