Zunera ishaq biography of abraham

Canadian woman at the centre of a face-covering controversy

Zunera Ishaq (born 1986) is a CanadianMuslim woman living in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, who was at the centre of a debate about the right to wear a niqāb— a veil that covers most of the face—when taking the Oath of Citizenship at a public citizenship ceremony administered under the Citizenship Act, RSC 1985, c C-29,^[3] which became a point of controversy during the 2015 Canadian federal elections.^[4]

Ishaq follows the Hanafi school of thought,^[5] and has worn the niqāb since her teen years in Lahore, Pakistan.^[2] In 2013, while being a Pakistani national, she challenged the probation on full-face veils during citizenship ceremonies, arguing that it violated her right to religious freedom, and explained that she is however willing to unveil herself if necessary for the purposes of security and to prove identity in private in front of other women.^[5]