Libya: Authorities must drop plans to impose compulsory veiling amid wider crackdown on ‘morality’ grounds

Responding to an announcement by Libya’s Tripoli-based Minister of Interior in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Emad al-Trabulsi, of sweeping measures that 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, Bassam Al Kantar, Amnesty International’s Libya Researcher, 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. “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.