Netherlands plans to ban full-face veil in public places
AMSTERDAM
The Dutch government on Friday agreed
to introduce a partial ban on the wearing of the full-face veil in
public places, the Home Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
The
proposed ban, which must be approved by parliament before it can become
law, would apply to all face-covering clothing, including ski-masks and
helmets, on public transport and in schools, hospitals and government
offices.
The measure "had nothing
to do with religion," Prime Minister Mark Rutte told journalists in The
Hague after the proposed measure was passed by the cabinet.
"In
a free country like the Netherlands, everyone has the right to dress
how they choose, no matter what others think. That freedom is only
limited in situations when it is essential for people to look at each
other," the statement said.
Anti-Islam
opposition politician Geert Wilders, whose far right policies have won
him widespread support among Dutch voters, has long sought a ban on face
veils and burqas. Wilders told Dutch television on Friday the proposed
measure was "weak".
Only a few hundred
women in the Netherlands veil themselves completely, but Rutte said
such laws were needed to "enforce values" of Dutch society.
France banned full-face veils in 2010, in a move that was upheld last year by the European Court of Human Rights.
(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Catherine Evans)
AMSTERDAM
The Dutch government on Friday agreed
to introduce a partial ban on the wearing of the full-face veil in
public places, the Home Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
The
proposed ban, which must be approved by parliament before it can become
law, would apply to all face-covering clothing, including ski-masks and
helmets, on public transport and in schools, hospitals and government
offices.
The measure "had nothing to do with religion," Prime Minister Mark Rutte told journalists in The Hague after the proposed measure was passed by the cabinet.
"In a free country like the Netherlands, everyone has the right to dress how they choose, no matter what others think. That freedom is only limited in situations when it is essential for people to look at each other," the statement said.
Anti-Islam opposition politician Geert Wilders, whose far right policies have won him widespread support among Dutch voters, has long sought a ban on face veils and burqas. Wilders told Dutch television on Friday the proposed measure was "weak".
Only a few hundred women in the Netherlands veil themselves completely, but Rutte said such laws were needed to "enforce values" of Dutch society.
France banned full-face veils in 2010, in a move that was upheld last year by the European Court of Human Rights.
(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Catherine Evans)
The measure "had nothing to do with religion," Prime Minister Mark Rutte told journalists in The Hague after the proposed measure was passed by the cabinet.
"In a free country like the Netherlands, everyone has the right to dress how they choose, no matter what others think. That freedom is only limited in situations when it is essential for people to look at each other," the statement said.
Anti-Islam opposition politician Geert Wilders, whose far right policies have won him widespread support among Dutch voters, has long sought a ban on face veils and burqas. Wilders told Dutch television on Friday the proposed measure was "weak".
Only a few hundred women in the Netherlands veil themselves completely, but Rutte said such laws were needed to "enforce values" of Dutch society.
France banned full-face veils in 2010, in a move that was upheld last year by the European Court of Human Rights.
(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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