Amnesty International said in statement on Friday that Libyan authorities must drop plans to impose compulsory veiling (hijab) amid wider crackdown on ‘morality’ grounds.
Amnesty’s statement came in response to an announcement by Libya’s Tripoli-based Minister of Interior in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Emad Al-Trabelsi, of sweeping measures acorss the country.
It said that those measures would “further entrench discrimination against women and girls and violate the rights to freedom of expression, religion, belief and bodily autonomy, including plans for morality police to enforce compulsory veiling.
Amnesty International’s Libya Researcher, Bassam Al Kantar, said: “The Minister of Interior’s threats to crack down on fundamental freedoms in the name of ‘morality’ are a dangerous escalation in the already suffocating levels of repression facing those in Libya not adhering to dominant social norms.
“Proposals to impose compulsory veiling on women and girls as young as nine, restrict interactions between men and women, and police young people’s personal choices with regards to hairstyles and clothing are not only deeply alarming, but also violate Libya’s obligations under international law.” Al Kantar says.
“In a further attack on women’s rights and equality, the GNU’s Minister of Interior has proposed forcing women to seek the permission of male guardians before they can travel abroad and boasted about forcibly returning from Tunisia two Libyan women who travelled without ‘guardians’. He has also announced plans for ‘morality police’ to monitor public spaces, workplaces and personal interactions in flagrant violation of individuals’ privacy, autonomy, and freedom of expression.” He added.
Al-Kantar said the GNU must scrap plans for these repressive measures and instead address the human rights crisis across the country, characterized by mass arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and unfair trials.
“The GNU must uphold the rights to freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and take measures to combat all forms of gender-based violence and other discrimination.” He explained.
