Now Denmark bans burkas and Islamic face veils in public
DENMARK is to become the latest European country to outlaw burkas in public places.
The proposed law would see the Scandinavian country join Austria, France, Belgium, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria, where the full-face Islamic veil is banned.
MPs in the Netherlands have voted to ban the burka on public transport and in places such as government buildings, schools and hospitals.
Now a cross-party majority in the Danish parliament has overwhelmingly backed proposals to forbid face coverings.
The burka is the most concealing of all Islamic veils – a one-piece garment that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through.
Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, of Denmark’s Liberal Party, which leads a centre-right governing coalition, said the law was not aimed at any particular religion.
“This is not a ban on religious clothing, this is a ban on masking,” he said. The Liberal Alliance, previously one of the staunchest opponents of a ban, has now aligned its stance with that of the country’s other coalition parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals.
Denmark’s Social Democrat Party, which sits in opposition, has also signalled support in principle for a ban on
Threatening
garments such as the burka, which it said oppressed women.
The move is seen as directed at the dress worn by some ultra-conservative Muslim families. Very few Muslim women in Denmark wear full-face veils, according to researchers.
The ban would also include the niqab, which is a face veil that leaves the area around the eyes clear.
France was the first country to implement a ban on Islamic face veils in April 2011 and last month the Austrian government issued posters and leaflets threatening Muslim women with fines for wearing veils after its ban came into force on October 1.
According to a YouGov survey carried out last year the majority of the British public are in favour of banning the burka in public.
The findings showed 57 per cent of respondents in the UK supported banning the veil in public places.
Earlier this year, Theresa May ruled out Britain introducing restrictions on Muslim face veils, insisting: “What a woman wears is a woman’s choice.”