Belgian burqa ban

The federal parliament's Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse a draft law proposed by Belgium's French-speaking liberals to ban clothes or veils that do not allow the wearer to be fully identified.

Parliamentary deputy Denis Ducarme, from the center-right Reformist Movement, told Deutsche Welle there were two reasons for proposing the ban.

"The first reason we want this law is for security," Ducarme said.

Oppoents of the burga argue that an inability to identify people who have hidden their faces presents a security risk.

The second reason for the bill was to send a strong signal to Islamists, Ducarme said.

"Forcing women to wear the long Islamic garments infringes on their rights. It's important to defend the right of women in this country, like elsewhere in Europe, against Islamists."

All Islamist face-covering outfits to be banned

The ban specifically refers to the Islamic burqa and the niqab that cover the entire bodies of women. The burqa covers the face with a gauze-like material. Its counterpart, the niqab has a narrow slit through which the eyes can be seen. Ultra-conservative Muslims advocate that women wear the garments.

Ducarme said he was confident the bill will be endorsed when the full house votes on it on April 22.

"It will be of course be adopted. Because we have a unanimity of vote in the commission of security in the parliament. All the political groups – the majority and the minority – have voted for this text," Ducarme said.

The ban would go into effect immediately and would cover all public grounds - streets, public gardens, sports grounds and buildings. Anyone who does not have police permission to wear the garments will face a fine of up to 25 euros ($34) and/or a prison term for up to seven days. Municipal authorities can grant exception for certain festivities like carnival.

Muslim groups insist wearing a full-face veil is an individual freedom, protected by Belgian, European and international rights laws.

Burqa also controversial in France

Secular France, home to Europe's largest Muslim minority, passed a law in 2004 banning the wearing of headscarves or any other conspicuous religious symbols in state schools. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said on several occasions that the Islamic burqa has no place at all in French society.

On Tuesday, France's top administrative body, the State Council, ruled that there were no legal grounds for a complete ban on the wearing of full-face veils in public. However, the Council also said the government could invoke a security and public order to require that faces be uncovered in public venues.

Author: Wilhelmina Lyffyt

Editor: Susan Houlton