Countries: Iran
Variables: RCDW-LAW-2

"While most women in Iran still cover their hair – whether by choice or because it's the law — the defiance of the law by many is a new thing, according to Foad Izadi, a professor at Tehran University, whose views track closely with Iran's hardline leaders" (Para 14). "In Iran, the hijab law has typically been enforced by the so-called morality police. They would stop women in the streets, detain them and make them watch what they called a two-hour educational video. There have been reports of harassment and beatings in custody. Authorities have also fined women driving without headscarves, through traffic surveillance systems" (Para 17)

Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: RCDW-LAW-1, RCDW-LAW-2

"The letter, confirmed by economy ministry spokesperson Abdulrahman Habib, said the female employees were not allowed to work until further notice because some had not adhered to the administration's interpretation of Islamic dresscode for women" (para 2, 17). "The Taliban have banned girls from middle school and high school, barred women from most fields of employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms" (para 37).

Countries: Switzerland
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-2, RCDW-LAW-1, RCDW-LAW-2

"Switzerland has proposed a £900 fine for anyone covering their face under a 'burqa ban' law. The draft law was today sent to parliament by the Swiss government and includes several exemptions, including suggesting waiving the ban on aircraft, in diplomatic premises and places of worship" (para 1-2). "Also, under the draft law, masks deemed necessary to protect oneself while exercising fundamental rights to expression and assembly would be allowed as long as authorities approved and public order was assured" (para 5). "Following consultations, the cabinet watered down calls to anchor it in the criminal code and fine offenders up to 10,000 francs" (para 9). "Full face veils were banned...more

Countries: Indonesia
Variables: RCDW-LAW-2

"In 2014, the Indonesian government issued a national regulation on school dress that has been widely interpreted to require female Muslim students to wear a jilbab as part of their school uniform… In Indonesia, the term 'jilbab,' which literally means 'partition' in Arabic, is widely used to refer to a cloth that covers a woman’s head, neck, and chest" (1).

Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: RCDW-LAW-2

"Shocking footage shows female Afghan students being whipped by a Taliban official after they were barred from entering their university campus because they were not wearing burkas...It comes nearly three months after the Taliban's religious police introduced stricter measures on how women dress in Badakhshan, particularly in the capital Faizabad which is where the university is located. According to the Directorate of Vice and Virtue, proper attire for women in public is either a niqab - a veil covering the head and face but not the eyes - or a burka - a veil that covers the entire body and face, with a mesh window across the eyes" (para 1,...more

Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: RCDW-LAW-1, RCDW-LAW-2

"After initially adopting a more flexible attitude when taking power last August, the Taliban have recently been issuing more and more hardline edicts, including making the face veil compulsory for women and encouraging them to stay at home" (Para.24).

Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: RCDW-LAW-2

" And if the Taliban do ultimately allow girls to attend secondary school girls, they are likely to forced to don a face veil and will be carefully watched by teachers appointed by local Taliban officials to ensure they strictly adhere to their restrictive uniforms" (Para.5).

Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: RCDW-LAW-2, WAM-LAW-1

"[T]he Taliban ordered women to cover their faces in public, followed by a separate decree requiring women broadcast journalists to cover their faces when on the air" (para 2).

Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: RCDW-LAW-1, RCDW-LAW-2

"Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have ordered television broadcasters to ensure that female presenters on local stations cover their faces when on air in the latest crackdown on women's rights. The move comes days after authorities ordered women to cover their faces in public" (para 1, 2). "[Akif] Mahajar [spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of Vice and Virtue] said female presenters could wear a medical face mask, as has been widely used during the Covid pandemic" (para 12).

Countries: Sri Lanka
Variables: RCDW-LAW-2

"Sri Lanka's Cabinet today approved a proposed ban on wearing the burqa in public two years after ISIS terrorists killed 260 people in bombings of churches and hotels. The Cabinet approved the proposal by Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera, who has said the full-face veils worn by Muslim women are a national security risk. The proposal will now be sent to the Attorney General's Department and must be approved by Parliament to become law. The government holds a majority in Parliament and the proposal could easily be passed" (para 1,2,3). "The burqa was temporarily outlawed in the days after the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings of three churches and three luxury...more

Countries: Belgium
Variables: RCDW-LAW-1, RCDW-LAW-2

"Discrimination against women who wear a headscarf was common in the labor market. The law also prohibits the wearing of a full-face veil (niqab) in public places. Authorities may punish persons who discriminate on the basis of ethnic origin with a fine of up to 137.50 euros ($150) and a jail sentence of up to seven days..." (12).

Countries: Syria
Variables: RCDW-LAW-1, RCDW-LAW-2

"Syrians have been pictured celebrating after they were liberated from ISIS rule in a northern stronghold in the country. A woman was seen smiling in Manbij as she burned a niqab she was forced to wear by the Islamic State regime while another man could not stop beaming as he had his beard cut" (para 1-2). "[T]he SDF released a video today where soldiers toured an ISIS 'religious police' headquarters where women were tortured with poles and chains if they were spotted without their faces covered" (para 15).

Countries: Germany
Variables: RCDW-LAW-2

“A German state has banned the use of burqas in school, saying that the full-face Islamic covering does not belong in a free society. Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany announced the ban on Tuesday. The state has already banned the use of such coverings for teachers. State Premier Winfried Kretschmann said that it was rare for school girls to wear burqas but that a ban was required for the exceptional cases. The new rule will apply to girls attending primary and secondary schools in the state” (para. 1-4). “In 2015, Germany's Constitutional Court overturned a blanket ban on teachers wearing them, ruling that it was against religious freedom. However, eight of...more

Countries: Belgium, Switzerland
Variables: RCDW-LAW-2

“In France, where Muslims make up about eight percent of the population, many of them being first- and second-generation immigrants from France's former colonies, the ban [on face coverings] became state law in 2010. Belgium and parts of Switzerland followed the French model. Earlier this year, the European Council for Human Rights (ECHR) affirmed the decision. "The question of accepting or not that the full veil can be worn in public is a society's choice," it ruled, explicitly declaring the French ban to be legally justified” (para. 6).

Countries: Afghanistan, Israel
Variables: RCDW-LAW-2

“A burqa is a full body veil, which leaves open only a tiny slash for its female wearer’s eyes. It is most common in Muslim countries like Afghanistan and goes back to a strict interpretation of the Koran. But burqas aren't solely Islamic. Some years ago, a fringe group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish women near Jerusalem began wearing similar full-body-veils as a symbol of piety” (para. 5).