A woman in a burqa in front of a courthouse in The Hague – still a familiar sight
As Deutsche Welle reports, the Netherlands has given the green light to a ban on wearing the burqa in public places. The Senate in The Hague on Tuesday, June 26, voted by a majority in favor of a limited ban on face-covering clothing. The Dutch House of Representatives passed the corresponding bill back in 2016.
According to the new law, wearing the burqa, niqab, and chador will be banned on public transport, in schools, hospitals, and government buildings. Lawyers and opposition representatives, who spoke of symbolic politics, opposed the new norms.
The ban is expected to be introduced in early 2019, although it remains unclear how it will be enforced. For example, will bus drivers be required to refuse entry to women with covered faces? About 400 women in the Netherlands wear the burqa or chador, which completely covers the face, reports the dpa news agency.
The first bill to ban the burqa was introduced in the Dutch parliament 13 years ago by right-wing populist Geert Wilders.