The Dutch government has ban wearing of facial covering veils (Burqa) in public places. The new law was passed yesterday.
The new law bans all face-covering garb, including for instance motor helmets and ski-masks, in public buildings, but not on the street.
The law is billed as a way to make schools, hospitals and public transport safer, but according to some critics, claims its only aimed at eradicating Islamic veils, such as the burqa and niqab.
The Dutch government’s main advising body in 2015 said the choice to wear an Islamic veil is protected by the constitutional right to freedom of religion, and that it saw no ground to limit that right.
It is also said the law was unnecessary, as only 200 to 400 women in The Netherlands wear a burqa or niqab, making it improbable that they would pose a big enough problem for schools, hospitals and public transport to merit a law.
Other measures against the wearing of Islamic veils have already been taken in Belgium, France, Denmark and Spain, among others.
