Egypt Prime Minister says niqab negates a woman's personality

Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif has waded into Egypt's "niqab" controversy, saying the full-face veil wipes out a woman's personality, the official news agency MENA reported on Wednesday. The niqab, advocated by ultra-conservative Muslims, "cancels the personality of a woman," he said.
The prime minister said the niqab was a matter of personal freedom but that it should not trespass on other people's rights, warning that some students used it to cheat in exams. However, universities should respect an administrative court's decision overturning bans on the niqab, he said.
The court last month ruled against a ban on the niqab in female schools affiliated with the Islamic Al-Azhar University. It also ruled against an education ministry ban on the niqab in university residences and examination halls, saying it violated the women's constitutional liberties.