The Dutch government has backed a proposal to ban the wearing of a burqa and other clothing that conceals the face in public areas. A burqa is different to the veil that sparked comments in Britain just a month or so ago on which I posted then. A burqa, as illustrated by the BBC here, covers the face entirely, leaving the woman who wears it looking out only through a mesh of fabric.
The Immigration Minister who proposed the ban, Rita Verdonk, said that the reasons for the move were because:
"The cabinet finds it undesirable that face-covering clothing - including the burqa - is worn in public places for reasons of public order, security and protection of citizens." (The Guardian)The proposals have been criticised as being an "over reaction to a very marginal problem" by the main Dutch Muslim opposition, and generally as a breach of human rights.
I think the reason that this has got as much publicity as it has is because of the Muslim-related aspect of the ban - even though it includes all clothing that covers the face, such as helmets with visors. If it was specifically aimed at the burqa, it would be a great overreaction (since all the sources I have read have the number of women in the Netherlands who wear the burqa at somewhere between a few dozen and a few hundred), but it includes all face-covering clothing. As it is, this proposal is a bit of an overreaction at least - but since the Dutch are to go to the polls next week, there is always the fact that it could be an election initiative designed to gain votes.
Sources: BBC, The Guardian, Expatica
