DENMARK is set to become the latest European country to outlaw burkas in public places.
The proposed law would see the Scandinavian country join Austria, France, Belgium, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria which all have laws banning full-face Islamic veils.
A cross-party majority in the Danish parliament has now overwhelmingly backed proposals to forbid face coverings.
Jacob Ellemann-Jensen, of Denmark’s liberal party which leads a centre-right governing coalition, said the law was not aimed at any particular religion.
He said: “This is not a ban on religious clothing, this is a ban on masking.”
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Denmark’s Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen wrote on Facebook: “There will come a masking ban in Denmark.
That’s how it is.”
His party, the Liberal Alliance, had previously been one of the staunchest opponents of a ban, saying it limited people’s ability to freely choose their attire.
The party has now aligned its stance with that of the country’s other coalition parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals.
Denmark’s Social Democrats, which has the most seats in the country’s parliament but is in opposition, has also signalled support in principle for a ban on garments such as the burka, which it said oppressed women.
The move is mostly seen as directed at the dress worn by some ultra-conservative Muslim families.
Very few Muslim women in Denmark wear full-face veils, according to researchers.
The burka is the most concealing of all Islamic veils. It is a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through.
The ban would also include the niqab, which is a veil for the face that leaves the area around the eyes clear. It may also be worn with a separate eye veil.
France was the first country to implement a ban in April 2011.
Belgium also has a nationwide ban that came into effect in 2011 and the European Court of Human Rights recently upheld the country’s right to do so.
Judges said the ban did not violate the rights to private and family life and freedom of religion, or discrimination laws.
Last month the Austrian government issued posters and leaflets threatening Muslim women with fines for wearing face veils. Its ban came into force on October 1.
In June, Norway’s government proposed a ban on face-covering Muslim veils in kindergartens, schools and universities.