French Senate approves the burqua ban by 246 to 1 votes
September 15th, 2010 - 8:12 pm ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt
Sep 15 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The French Senate has voted to accept a new law that prohibits the wearing of any veil that conceals the face. The ban includes the Muslim burqa, which covers the whole body of Muslim women when it is worn.
The move has made France the first European country to impose such a ban nationwide.
Some 246 legislators voted for the ban. However some 100 left leaning politicians abstained from the vote with only one legislator voting against the ban which was overwhelmingly approved by the country’s lower house of parliament in July.
The law is expected to be enforced next Spring and recent opinion poll from Pew Global Attitudes Project suggest that most French citizens approve of the ban. The poll showed that some 82 percent of French citizens approve of the ban with some 17 percent disapproving.
However the bill will have to be approved by the country’ President Nicolas Sarkozy before it will become a law in the country.
Under the law any woman who wears anything to conceal the face will be fined $200 or be made to take a course in citizenship lessons. However any man who forces a woman to wear a face-concealing veil will have to pay $41,000 and spend sometime in jail.
The country authorities maintain that the ban is not aimed at Muslims women but will ensure that women’s rights are observed and no woman will be forced to wear the burqa.
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Tags: authorities, burqa, citizenship, french citizens, french senate, house of parliament, legislator, legislators, muslim women, muslims, nicolas sarkozy, opinion poll, parliament, pew global attitudes, politicians, veil, vote