Somali security forces are seizing and even burning Muslim women's veils to stop Islamist militants from disguising themselves for attacks, authorities and witnesses claimed on Wednesday. The crackdown on veils is a highly symbolic turnaround for Mogadishu after Islamist leaders, who controlled the city in the second half of 2006, had instructed women to wear them. "Every policeman and government soldier has orders to confiscate veils from veiled women," senior police officer Ali Nur said in Mogadishu, saying various recent attacks had been carried out by people in disguise. "Some of the remnants of the Islamic Courts have been caught wearing veils. During the war, these remnants, pretending to be women, killed so many government troops," he alleged. Mogadishu residents said government troops and police had been forcibly removing veils and publicly destroying them. "Yesterday, so many veils were burnt by the police," said taxi-driver Abdullahi Mohamed.
A witness saw some veiled women running away from police on Wednesday. One girl, 17-year-old Iftin Hussein, said she had left her veil at home to avoid encounters with the police. "Government troops are unveiling women. Yesterday, I was forced to run away to escape from being unveiled. This is wrong, but we cannot do anything, we are powerless," she said.
| Next thing you know they'll be telling her to get a job and send her daughters to school. |