Netherlands passes a law banning burqa

Amsterdam: The political parties in Netherlands welcomed the decision of ‘burqa ban’, saying that it’s the first step, taken against the Islamization of the country. The Upper House of the Netherlands Parliament passed the bill for burqa ban on Tuesday, which has now been converted into a law. This has put restrictions on the use of burqa and niqab by the Islamic women. But the Netherlands government has claimed that this law is not against any religion.

The Upper House of the Netherlands Parliament passed the burqa ban bill with a vote of 44 against 31. This will stop the use of burqa and niqab in public transport, educational institutions, hospitals and government office buildings. It has been informed that this decision was taken for security reasons. The Netherlands government has claimed that there is no intention of targeting a particular religion behind the decision. But some people who are opposing the decision have claimed that there is a clear intention of targeting Muslim women. The number of women using burqa and niqab in Netherlands is not more than 400, and yet, to claim that there is a threat to security from them is an exaggeration, said the opposition.

But the Freedom Party led by the aggressive leader, Geert Wilders from Netherlands, has strongly welcomed this decision. Marjolein Faber-Van, leader of the Freedom Party, welcomed the decision by saying that this is the first step against Islamization of the Netherlands. This is the first stage and we expect the second stage to be closure of all the mosques in the Netherlands, said Faber-Van. Meanwhile, some people are saying that the law passed in the Netherlands is not as harsh as the law banning burqa in other European countries.

The burqa worn by the Muslim women covers the face completely along with the body, whereas in a niqab, only some part near the eyes is open. The Hijab leaves the whole face uncovered. It is being pointed out that the law passed in the Netherlands does not ban hijab. But due to this, the discussion about burqa, niqab and hijab in once again on the anvil in the European countries. France was the first country to ban burqa and niqab in 2011. Belgium, Austria, Germany, Italy and Spain followed the suit, while Denmark became the 12^th country to take a decision to ban burqas.

The liberals in Europe believe that the decision to ban burqa is attacking an individual’s personal freedom. There were Incidents in some European countries, where women had refused to remove the burqa or niqab, even for a passport or driving licence photograph. Angry reactions had emanated from these countries, saying that this is a challenge to the law of the country. The rightist groups in Europe raised questions about how fair it was that a person could look at the whole world through a burqa, but decide to keep one’s own face hidden. These leaders also claimed that this was a security issue and criticized that this matter was against the western culture.

Following this, serious thought was given to the burqa ban in the European countries, and France became the first to ban burqa.