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Denmark wants to extend 'burqa ban' to schools and universities

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The Local/AFP - news@thelocal.dk
Denmark wants to extend 'burqa ban' to schools and universities
A woman wearing a niqab weeps as she is embraced by a police officer during a demonstration against the Danish face veil ban in Copenhagen on August 1st 2018. Photo: Andrew Kelly/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix
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The Danish government is to propose to extend the country's ban on full-face veils in public places to schools and universities.

"Burqas, niqabs, or other clothing that hides people's faces have no place in a Danish classroom," Minister for Immigration and Integration Rasmus Stoklund said in a statement.

"There is already a ban on face coverings in public spaces, and this should of course also apply in educational institutions," he added.

Denmark banned the wearing of full-face coverings in public places in 2018, with offenders subject to a fine.

The ban could, in theory, apply to wearing balaclavas or motorcycle helmets, but was primarily targeted at the Islamic veil and became referred to as the ‘burqa ban’.

This term is somewhat inaccurate because the black veil with a small slit for the wearer’s eyes, which is the full-face veil worn by a tiny minority of Muslims in Denmark, is called a niqab. 

The burqa, the full-length veil through which the wearer looks through a mesh, meaning their eyes are covered, is thought to be essentially non-existent in the Nordic country, although no official data exist.

The number of women who wear the niqab has previously been estimated at approximately 150-200 nationwide, although it is unclear whether the 2018 legislation has reduced that figure.

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Human rights campaigners and religious groups have criticised the existing burqa ban as discriminatory and as a violation of both freedom of religion and women's freedom of choice.

Supporters conversely argue it enables Muslims of immigrant backgrounds to better integrate into Danish society.

READ ALSO: 'From one day to another, we're criminals': Muslim women speak against Denmark's burqa ban (2018)

The introduction of the law in 2018 saw public protests against it, while statistics released in subsequent years showed it had been enforced rarely. 

"With this bill, we are sending a very clear signal to girls and women from immigrant backgrounds in particular that we support them in their fight against honour culture and outdated norms," Stoklund said.

Hans Andersen, spokesperson for the Liberal Party (Venstre), argued that "it is un-Danish for girls and women to sit completely covered in classrooms where the teacher cannot see the faces of those they are teaching."

The bill is scheduled to be presented to parliament in February 2026.

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