Egyptian All-Female Niqab TV Channel Debuts During Ramadan

That all-female, niqab-clad satellite TV channel Marya is about to make its debut on July 20, the first day of Ramadan. The station's general manager Safaa al-Refaie has said that everyone at the station will be required to wear the full face veil, including guests, and if a guest chooses not to wear the niqab they will have their faces blurred out during airing.

The programming will deal with Muslim women's issues in marriage and religion.

“Our message will be directed at Muslim women, to teach them the Sunna (legacy) of the Prophet Mohammed."

The channel was created as a backlash after years of hijab-wearing women being banned from the airwaves by ex-president Hosni Mubarak. Refaie wants

“to regain the dignity of women in niqab who have been persecuted and were subject to dismissal from work over the past decades."

Some people, like media whiz Yasser Abdul Aziz doesn't believe it will last long under its present incarnation, and others like Negad al-Boraie (rights activist) praised the station as being a

“legitimate exercise of the freedom of opinion and expression."

He went on to state that what people say is far more important than what people wear, and that it isn't "discrimination" to ban unveiled women from the shows.

“Protecting freedom of expression and opinion requires making room for both women in niqab who launch their own channel, and those who believe in other ideas."

I want to know what's the point of fully covered on-air talent?  If you don't want to show women's faces then launch a radio station.