German parliament approves govt proposal to ban full-face veils for officials
28 April 2017 3:16 PM IST
The law also applies to soldiers and still needs approval from the upper house of parliament.
The bill was proposed last year by security officials from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc. (Photo: Representational/AP)
Berlin: The German parliament has approved a government proposal that would ban the wearing of full-face veils for public servants while they are at work.
The bill was proposed last year by security officials from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc. They argued that wearing the burqa or other face-covering veils in public schools, courts and other situations compromised public servants' neutrality, and that in many cases it is important for their identity to be known.
The law also applies to soldiers. The law passed the lower house of Parliament late Thursday and still needs upper house approval.
Those against the measure have criticised it as merely symbolic, saying there are next to no public servants who wear such veils.
( Source : AP )
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