Prime Minister Youssef Chahed decided on Friday to ban the niqab Muslim face covering for women in Tunisian government offices, AFP reported.

Chahed signed a government circular “banning access to public administrations and institutions to anyone with their face covered,” his office said. The decision was made “for security reasons,” the statement added.

A number of countries have imposed ban against the wearing of niqab in public. France outlawed citizens wearing any form of face covering in public in 2010, effectively banning the niqab.