'Burqa ban': Denmark set to ban full-face veils
Danish government has stated that it has planned to fine people who will wear items including burka or niqab. Photo: Getty Images
(Web Desk) – Denmark is set to become the next European country to introduce a ban on the Islamic full-face covering in public spaces.
Danish government has stated that it has planned to fine people who will wear items including burka or niqab, used mostly by Muslim women.
The proposal of banning includes anyone who is found with a fully-covered face in public. The proposed fine is 1,000 kroner (£120) which can go up to 10,000 kroner (£1200) if they are repeatedly caught, according to the Independent.
“It is incompatible with the values of the Danish society or the respect for the community to keep the face hidden when meeting each other in the public space,” Justice Minister Justice Soren Pape Poulsen said.
“With a ban, we draw a line in the sand and establish that here in Denmark we show each other trust and respect by meeting each other face to face,” he said.
The bans will only include those veils that cover the face.
The niqab, which covers the face but leaves the eyes clear, will therefore be banned, along with the burqa.
The headscarf known as the hijab will remain legal, as will as other less-concealing headgear, reported the Independent.
Denmark’s ban on full-face coverings will affect fewer than 200 women, from minority Muslim community living there.
The ban does not affect fancy dress for Halloween or for sports mascots.
Apart from Denmark, the countries which have already implemented burka ban in public are France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria.
Following legal challenges to Belgium’s 2011 national ban, the European Court of Human Rights upheld the country’s right to implement the ban in full. Judges said it did not violate the rights to private and family life, or freedom of religion or discrimination laws.
In June 2017 Norway’s government proposed a ban on face-covering veils in kindergartens, schools and universities.
