Dutch parliament votes to ban burqas, niqabs in some public places

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AMSTERDAM: The Dutch Parliament`s lower house voted on Tuesday to ban the wearing of face-covering clothes - such as burqas and niqabs - in some public places, making the Netherlands the latest European country to restrict garments worn by some Muslim women.

The legislation, which still needs to be passed by the senate, bans the veils in settings where identifying the wearer is considered essential, such as in government buildings, on public transport, at schools and in hospitals.

Few women in the Netherlands wear such clothes, but the issue has been high on the agenda for years, with an outright ban one of the main demands of the anti-Islam opposition Freedom Party, which is leading in polls ahead of elections in March.