French parliament opens debate on veil ban
July 7th, 2010 - 11:11 am ICT by IANSParis, July 7 (DPA) The French parliament late Tuesday began debating a proposed law to ban veiling of faces in public, a controversial move aimed mainly at traditional dress worn by some Muslim women.
If the bill becomes law, any woman wearing the face veil in public would be liable to a fine of 150 euros ($184), or be obliged to take a class in citizenship, or both.
In addition, anyone forcing someone to conceal her face because of her gender would face a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of up to 30,000 euros.
If a child is forced to veil her face, the parent or adult who ordered it would face a fine of 60,000 euros and two years in jail.
The controversial bill is expected to be approved, because the ruling UMP party and its allies have a commanding majority in both houses. Opposition Socialist lawmakers are also likely to support it.
But a key government advisory body has questioned its legality. The Council of State noted that the European Court of Human Rights has upheld the right of individuals to live their lives according to their convictions.
It would, therefore, be difficult to use the argument that wearing the veil insults the dignity of a woman if she wears it voluntarily.
Similar laws have been passed by the Belgian Parliament, forbidding Muslim women from wearing full-body burqas. A similar initiative is under way in Spain.
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- Belgian city introduces school ban on crosses - Jul 14, 2010
- Belgian parliament moves against burqas despite crisis - Apr 30, 2010
- Belgian parliament moves against burqa (Second Lead) - Apr 30, 2010
- Belgium set to become first EU country to ban burqas - Mar 31, 2010
- France may impose 700-pound fine for women wearing burqas - Jan 08, 2010
- French Senate approves the burqua ban by 246 to 1 votes - Sep 15, 2010
- French law to target men who impose wearing of burqa - Apr 30, 2010
- British minister terms burqa ban un-British - Jul 18, 2010
- Berlusconi ally brings anti-burqua bill in parliament - Sep 28, 2010
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