Denmark, in totality has decided to abolish wearing burqa and the niqab, worn by some Muslim women in public. Full and partial face veils such as burqas and niqabs divide opinion across Europe, setting advocates of religious freedom against secularists and those who argue that such garments are culturally alien or a symbol of the oppression of women.
The niqab covers everything but the eyes, while the burqa also covers the eyes with a transparent veil.
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed some restrictions on the wearing of full-face veils in public places.
“This is not a ban on religious clothing, this is a ban on masking,” Jacob Ellemann-Jensen, spokesman for the Liberal Party, told reporters on Friday after his party, decided to back a ban.
This would effectively mean a ban on the niqab and the burqa, he added. Around 200 women in Denmark wear such garments, according to researchers.
The three-party centre-right minority government, its ally the Danish People’s Party and the main opposition Social Democrats have all said they are in favor of a ban, though they are still discussing how the ban should be designed and enforced.
The Social Democrats, Denmark’s biggest party, has also signaled support in principle for a ban on garments such as the burqa, which it said oppressed women.
“We are ready to ban the burqa if that is what it takes … But there are some dilemmas, not least with regards to how such a ban would be enforced,” said the Social Democrats’ leader Mette Fredriksen during a debate in parliament on Thursday.
Norway’s government in June proposed a ban on face-covering Muslim veils in kindergartens, schools and universities.
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