Paris, France (CNN) – The French senate approved Tuesday a law banning any veils that cover the face – including the burqa, the full-body covering worn by some Muslim women – making France the first European country to plan such a measure.
The law passed by a vote of 246 to 1, with about 100 abstentions coming essentially from left-leaning politicians.
The legislation was overwhelmingly approved by the lower house of parliament in July and will go into effect next spring.
French people back the ban by a margin of more than four to one, the Pew Global Attitudes Project found in a survey earlier this year.
Some 82 percent of people polled approved of a ban, while 17 percent disapproved. That was the widest support the Washington-based think tank found in any of the five countries it surveyed.
Clear majorities also backed burqa bans in Germany, Britain and Spain, while two out of three Americans opposed it, the survey found.
A panel of French lawmakers recommended a ban last year, and lawmakers unanimously passed a non-binding resolution in May calling the full-face veil contrary to the laws of the nation.
“Given the damage it produces on those rules which allow the life in community, ensure the dignity of the person and equality between sexes, this practice, even if it is voluntary, cannot be tolerated in any public place,” the French government said when it sent the measure to parliament in May.
The law imposes a fine of 150 euros ($190) and/or a citizenship course as punishment for wearing a face-covering veil. Forcing a woman to wear a niqab or a burqa will be punishable by a year in prison or a 15,000-euro ($19,000) fine, the government said, calling it “a new form of enslavement that the republic cannot accept on its soil.”
The French Council of State has warned that the ban could be incompatible with international human rights laws and the country’s own constitution. The council advises on laws, but the government is not required to follow its recommendations.
The ban pertains to the burqa, a full-body covering that includes a mesh over the face, and the niqab, a full-face veil that leaves an opening only for the eyes. The hijab, which covers the hair and neck but not the face, and the chador, which covers the body but not the face, apparently are not banned by the law.
However, a 2004 law in France bans the wearing or displaying of overt religious symbols in schools – including the wearing of headscarves by schoolgirls.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life estimates that France has about 3.5 million Muslims, or about 6 percent of the population.
France does not keep its own statistics on religious affiliation of the population, in keeping with its laws requiring the state to be strictly secular.
Is this freedom of right? Well If some day, you should leave that country if you don’t like it, then I will say Iran is doing good by implying the bhurqa culture for anyone coming in to country and other should do that too. Not only bhurqa but also Sharia Law should be completely implied so that there could be fairness to men and women.
burqa ban????
**** u had scared me for a second, i thougt it was bukra ban.
mutton is tasty, and dem french ppl know how to cook some fine goat i.e. bukra meat.
burqa ban????
**** u had scared me for a second, i thougt it was bukra ban.
mutton is tasty, and dem french ppl know how to cook some fine goat i.e. bukra meat.
Nah, They only know how to bake Baguette! nothing more than that.
Lets face it , the head scarf ban and the body covering ban is an infringement of the rights of many muslims living in France ... though i do believe face covering shouldnt be allowed ... We arent really living in a safe society and face covering can be used by anyone to hide their identity, plus face covering isnt a farz in pardah ...
I think with this law, France will soon fall in trouble with the European Union, Inshallah Britain wont give in to these stupid laws ... but France deserves a proper bashing for its biased approach.
I think with this law, France will soon fall in trouble with the European Union, Inshallah Britain wont give in to these stupid laws ... but France deserves a proper bashing for its biased approach.
France and Germany are the ones keeping the EU afloat. So I'm pretty sure France will bring the EU in line , and NOT Vice Versa.
I neither agree nor disagree with this law. Personally, I strongly disapprove of the burqa (and the head scarf) but then again, to each his own...
And to everyone saying it infringes on their right: by your reasoning banning alcohol infringes on the rights of Pakistanis.
No one’s being stoned or beaten, just fined for breaking the law.
That’s a very civilized response to an oppressive practice (which is not required by the Quran, only by a radical strain of Islam).
Hopefully in next 100 years burkha will be banned in Pakistan too, long may it continue.
A while ago, there was news that UK wasn’t going to ban it.
I wonder what’s going to happen with this. From what I’ve read, the women there are still determined to keep wearing it regardless of the law being passed. There’s also this brother there who’s started a fund to pay any fines for women who get fined for it.
I wonder what's going to happen with this. From what I've read, the women there are still determined to keep wearing it regardless of the law being passed.** There's also this brother there who's started a fund to pay any fines for women who get fined for it**.
lets not go overboard. I was staying within confines of a civilized society.
no more burqa threat, yer all safe.