Denmark is set to become the next European country to restrict the burqa and the niqab after parties in parliament backed some form of ban on facial coverings.
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed some restrictions on the wearing of full-face veils in public places.
The three-party centre-right minority government, its ally the Danish People’s Party and the main opposition Social Democrats have all said they are in favour of a ban, though they are still discussing how the ban should be designed and enforced.
“There will come a masking ban in Denmark. That’s how it is,” Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said on Facebook.
Samuelsen's Liberal Alliance, previously one of the staunchest opponents of a ban, said it limited people’s ability to freely choose their attire, but has now aligned with coalition parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals.
“So if it is practically possible to have such a ban without betraying ourselves or our own values, then the Liberal Alliance will vote for it,” Samuelsen said.
Norway’s government in June proposed a ban on face-covering Muslim veils in kindergartens, schools and universities.
