Denmark bans burqa in public spaces

The latest European country to do so, anyone wearing garment hiding the face will be fined 1,000 kroner ($156)

Women wearing the niqab sit in the audience seats of the Danish Parliament, at Christiansborg Castle, in Copenhagen on May 31. 2018. Denmark joined some other European countries in deciding on Thursday to ban garments that cover the face, including Islamic veils such as the niqab or burqa.

The Danish Parliament on Thursday passed a law banning the Islamic full-face veil in public spaces, becoming the latest European country to do so.

“Anyone who wears a garment that hides the face in public will be punished with a fine,” says the law, which was passed by 75 votes to 30.

 

Wide backing

Presented by the centre-right government, the legislation, which is to take effect on August 1, was also backed by the Social Democrats and the far-right Danish People’s Party. Wearing a burqa, which covers a person’s entire face, or the niqab, which only shows the eyes, in public will lead to a fine of 1,000 kroner ($156). Repeated violators will be fined up to 10,000 kroner. “I don’t think there are many who wear the burqa here in Denmark. But if you do, you should be punished with a fine,” Justice Minister Soren Pape Poulsen was quoted as saying by Ritzau news agency in February.

The European Court of Human Rights last year upheld a Belgian ban. France was the first European country to ban the niqab in public places with a law that took effect in 2011.