CAIRO — A female Egyptian news presenter appeared on state television wearing a veil for the first time Sunday after the Islamist-dominated government lifted an effective ban that had been in place for decades.
Rescinding the ban was the latest move by authorities under new Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, which are making sweeping changes to state media.
The ban on veils, enforced by state television for the half-century it has been in existence, ended with the noon news bulletin when Fatma Nabil read out the headlines wearing a cream-colored headscarf and a dark suit.
Nabil worked for a year in the Muslim Brotherhood TV network Misr 25 after she was barred by state TV from appearing on air because of her veil. With Morsi’s election and the appointment of the new Information Minister, Salah Abdel-Maksoud of the Muslim Brotherhood, she said she was given the “green light” to come back to state TV.
“Now the standards have nothing to do with the veil, which is a personal choice, but are all about professional skills and intellect,” she said.
