Kyrgyzstan will fine women for WEARING full-body niqabs under plan backed by Muslim authority which says garments could hide ‘attackers in disguise’ and are ‘alien to our society’

Women in Kyrgyzstan will be fined for wearing a full-body niqab under a new plan that is supported by the country’s official Muslim governing body.

The authority says the garments could hide ‘attackers in disguise’ and are ‘alien to our society’.

It comes as Central Asian officials seek to combat growing Islamist influence, according to local media.

The Muslim-majority country introduced a ban earlier this year on the veil, worn by some adult women, that covers most of the body except the eyes.

Those found wearing the garment could be fined 20,000 Som ($230), more than half the monthly average wage.

‘The niqab is alien to our society,’ the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan was quoted as saying by local media on Tuesday.

‘It is possible that our niqab-wearing sisters are attackers in disguise, which threatens public safety. 

‘So it is important to openly show your face to be recognisable,’ it added.

After becoming independent from the USSR, the five Muslim-majority countries of Central Asia saw a rapid revival of interest in Islamism that its secular governments have sought to suppress.

The authority says the garments could hide ‘attackers in disguise’ and are ‘alien to our society’ (stock image)

It comes as Central Asian officials seek to combat growing Islamist influence, according to local media (stock image of the he Kyrgyz national flag)

The region has seen a rise in Islamic radicalisation in recent years, and thousands of Central Asian citizens left to join jihadist groups in the Middle East during the rise of the Islamic State between 2013-2015.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, who signed the ban into law in January, said in an interview Saturday that women had traditionally ‘never worn a burqa’ in the country and that the move was ‘important for ensuring public safety’.

Central Asia’s Islamic ‘spiritual administrations’ are nominally independent from the government but have their roots in the official, Soviet-era governing bodies that sought to enforce the state’s authority over religion.