Burqa ban

Just one day after lawmakers in Belgium's lower house of parliament approved a draft measure to ban the Islamic burqa in public, a version of a similar French law has now been revealed.

The French daily Le Figaro reported on Friday that, in the French draft bill, anyone wearing "a garment intending to conceal the face" could be fined up to 150 euros ($200). The proposal also includes a fine of up to 15,000 euros, or a year in prison, for forcing others to wear a burqa. This is aimed at men who force women to wear the face veils.

In Belgium, the proposed law would include fines of 15 to 25 euros (about $20 to $33) and imprisonment for up to seven days.

The Belgian law is described as a necessary security measure to prevent the obscuring of a person's identity. It saw almost unanimous approval by the lower house of parliament, with only two abstentions.

Countries across Europe have debated the banning of veils or headscarves to address public concern about a perceived growth of Islamic militancy. Promoters of the bill said the law could also be used against potentially violent demonstrators who covered their faces.

'A dangerous precedent'

Despite widespread support in the Belgian senate and in France, the burqa ban has been met with plenty of criticism. Amnesty International condemned the move, warning that it set "a dangerous precedent."

"A complete ban on the covering of the face would violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion of those women who wear the burqa or the niqab," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty's expert on discrimination in Europe.

Dalhuisen added that there was no "demonstrable link between the wearing of full face veils in Belgium and genuine threats to public safety."

France's version of a burqa ban, which is backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, is scheduled to be presented to the cabinet on May 19, with debate in the National Assembly set to begin in July.

Isabelle Praille, vice president of the Executive of Belgian Muslims, told French news agency AFP that the burqa ban took things too far.

"Given the acute crisis which our government is facing," she said, "this move to kill our liberties, which will deprive dozens of women of their fundamental rights, is totally over the top and driven by ideology."

Belgium's government faces an uncertain future following the fall of the government on April 22. New elections may delay the passage of the burqa law as both houses of parliament must first approve the bill.

mz/cmk/DPA/afp
Editor: Susan Houlton