The burqa is a garment worn by some Muslim women that covers the entire body, including the face, with a mesh over the eyes.
The country’s public security minister, Sarath Veerasekara, on Friday signed a paper seeking cabinet approval to ban the burqa on the grounds of “national security”.
“In our early days, Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa,” she told a news conference on Saturday. “It’s a sign of religious extremism that came recently. We will definitely ban it.”
In the days following the attack, Sri Lanka’s intelligence services said they believed the suicide bombers had made clear connections with ISIS. Alleged mentor and rioter, Zahran Hashim was a radical preacher of Islam, known to the authorities and the local Muslim community.
Later that year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, known as the defense secretary in the north of the country for crushing decades-old rebels, was elected president after promising to crack down on extremism.
The Rajapaksa has been accused of widespread rights violations during the war, which he denies.
Veershekra said the government plans to ban more than 1,000 madrassas from Islamic schools, which he said would hit national education policy.
“No one can open a school and teach children what they want,” he said.
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