Burqa ban!
NEW JERSEY, OCT 13: Burqa - the Muslim women's body veil is likely to be soon banned in the Netherlands, says a news report. It will be the first European country to legislate toughest curbs on Muslim clothing. Netherlands hardliner Integration minister Rita Verdonk, who is called the Iron Lady for her series of anti-immigration measures, announced that she was going to investigate where and when the Burqa should be banned. Sources said the ban would be applicable in shops, public buildings, cinemas, trains, bus stops and airlines, which means almost everywhere except the streets. Anti-immigrant Verdonk appears very determined despite realizing the angry backlash of the Netherlands Muslim community, Human Rights groups and Europe's Muslims in general. She is reported to have said the "time of cozy tea-drinking" with Muslim group has passed and immigrants should have the courage to criticize each other. She recently cancelled a meeting with Muslim leaders who refused to shake her hand because she was a woman, she said. Her proposals are likely to get the approval of Parliament with the support of the right-wing group. Its MP Geert Wilders had called for the ban saying that Burqas were not " woman-friendly" and in effect will be a "safety measure". The Muslim community is agitated over the banning proposal and the human rights groups say that the Government was pandering to the far Right. Yassim Hertog of the Dutch Muslim School Boards Union said, "Can you prohibit someone from wearing a certain type of dress? They are trying to test what a government can forbid and how far you can trample on people's rights." The community leaders also said that hardly 100 women wear the Burqa. Belgian cities, Antwerp and Ghent banned wearing the Burqa in public and have recently started £100 spot fines for breaking the byelaws. Reservation against burqa is nothing new in Netherlands. Last year two Muslim women lost a court case against their college that had banned them from wearing burqas during their social work and childcare course. The judge backed the college in its claim that children had to be able to see who was caring for them, prompting the women to drop the course. Famile Arslan, the women’s lawyer, told The Times: “Women have a very strong opinion about the burqa. If you ban it they won’t leave the house. It is not a good way to integrate and emancipate Muslim women. Everything Muslims do is criticized by Verdonk. She is doing it to get votes. She doesn’t care about Muslims and their problems.” Extremism became a big issue in the Netherlands after the murder of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh, a critic of Islam who produced a film on 'women abuse in Islam'. He was stabbed in broad daylight as he was cycling through Amsterdam. The police investigating his murder allegedly uncovered a network of Muslim extremists in the country. (DesPardes News Monitor)
Dutch city denies support to Burqa-clad women
AMSTERDAM, OCT 12 - The Dutch city of Utrecht has announced it will impose sanctions on women who refuse to take off their burqas at job interviews while claiming social benefits, the Telegraaf newspaper reported on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the city authorities said Utrecht was the first Dutch city to insist that burqa-wearing women take off the traditional garment that completely obscures the face if wearing it was an impediment to finding a job. The ruling came after two Muslim women receiving social benefits made clear to the city authorities that they would on principle not remove their burqas for job interviews. The women, who were not named, said they were not prepared to adopt alternative headscarves that did not obscure the face. The Utrecht spokeswoman described the women in question as well integrated into Dutch society and readily employable. She said that Utrecht was applying the appropriate legislation that required those receiving support not to do anything that would hinder finding a job. (DPA)
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