The so-called burka ban comes into effect in the Netherlands on August 1.
From August 1, any women with a burqa will be fined €150 for wearing face-covering headgear in schools, public transport, hospitals and other public buildings.
Public officials and public transport workers will be required to ask people caught covering their faces to remove the garment, leave, or call the police. There are an estimated 150 women in the Netherlands wearing the burqa.
In 2010, a total ban was included in the coalition agreement of the liberals with Geert Wilders’ PVV. That coalition collapsed after the PVV withdrew its support but a partial ban was included in the 2012 coalition plans. The law in its current form was adopted in November 2016 and ratified in June 2019 by the Senate.
The Council of State advisory body recommended that the ban is withdrawn as there are sufficient provisions in the law to require people to show their faces.
