Danish ‘Burqa’ law
Denmark has pushed forward and finalised a new law that will forbid women from wearing niqab or burqas. The law bans people from wearing any garment that covers the face. The bill was voted in by a 75 to 30 majority, with a large section of Danish MP’s abstaining, 74 in total, from the vote.
Discussions about the law
The law was passed last month but comes into full effect today. Now effectual, the law allows people to cover their face when there is a “recognisable purpose”. This recognisable purpose means helmets and balaclavas used to offer protection from the cold, or that are used for road safety purposes safety would not be included in the ban.
The new law states that anyone found to be wearing clothing that covers their face, making them unrecognisable, will be subject to a fine of 1,000 krone – the equivalent of £119 – for a first offence. In the case of ‘repeat offenders’ a fine of up to 10,000 krone (£1,193) or up to two years in prison.
Amnesty International said that the ban is
“neither necessary nor proportionate.”
Given there are currently only estimated to be up to 200 women in the country with a population of 5.7 million that wear the face veil, the law does indeed seem disproportionate. Moreover, this seems particularly harsh from a country that prides itself on liberal values of ‘gender equality, liberal mindedness, and trust’.
A European trend?
Denmark is not the only country in Europe to be advancing face-covering laws. In 2017 Austria voted to ban full-face veils in the public space; namely in courts of law and schools.
France set the precedent as the first European country to enact the ban on full face covering in public places. Anyone that does wear a face covering in France is looking at a 150 euro (£133) fine and citizenship lessons. Controversially, going a step further in 2016, France then enacted the ban on the full-body swimsuit, or what glibly came to be known as the “burkini”. This ban was later removed after France’s highest court overruled the law.
Other countries in Europe have had a number of discussions on the topic; Belgium enacted the law in 2011, with other countries such as the Netherlands effectuating a partial ban.
Outcomes of these laws
Despite claims of the Danish government to the contrary, the new law looks set to feed into marginalisation of Muslims, and most notably women. Danish MP Marcus Knuth contended that the dress worn by some conservative Muslim women was “strongly oppressive”.
Ironically, this seems to be the common narrative for European leaders. France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose administration brought in the ban in 2011, making France one of the first countries to impose such a ban, saying,
“The problem of the burka is not a religious problem, it’s a problem of liberty and women’s dignity. It’s not a religious symbol, but a sign of subservience and debasement. I want to say solemnly the burka is not welcome in France. In our country, we can’t accept women prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity. That’s not our idea of freedom.”
Opponents of the new law
However, human rights organisations and opponents of the law say that the new Danish law is one that oppresses women by forcing them to dress in a certain way and restricts their choice on what to wear. Fotis Filippou, Amnesty International’s deputy Europe director,
“If the intention of this law was to protect women’s rights it fails abjectly. Instead, the law criminalises women for their choice of clothing – making a mockery of the freedoms Denmark purports to uphold.”
As a result of the new law, protests and counter-protests are planned to take place in Copenhagen and Aarhus today. Groups opposed to the ban, such as Kvinder I Dialog (Women In Dialogue), said the protest will go ahead regardless of the presence of groups that are in favour of the ban. Their spokesperson said that, ‘the ban was an attempt to restrict the Muslim community and their religious identity and values.’
The impact of these laws can be far reaching. At a time when Europe is riding on the crest of a wave of virulent right-wing nationalism, limiting personal freedoms has the potential to exacerbate further the lack of social cohesion and trust in society. Human rights organisations must therefore continue to ensure that personal freedoms, gender equality and freedom of religion or belief are really at the top of the agenda, by questioning the overall value in laws such as these.