The Dutch law (and others like it) is popularly known as a burqa ban, but it actually bans all clothing “which covers the face,” and that would include the niqab, which is more common in the Netherlands than the burqa. It would also cover Antifa masks. This is a simple matter of public safety, as well as a defense of Dutch culture. Many criminals have worn face coverings to conceal their identity. But as far as the UN is concerned, the law is simply “Islamophobic.” Oddly, Tendayi Achiume, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on racism, said: “This law has no place in a society that prides itself in promoting gender equality.”
That’s exactly the opposite of reality. The niqab and burqa are visible symbols of gender inequality, and will remain so unless and until Muslim men begin to be forced to wear them, as are all too many Muslim women.
“U.N. Accuses Netherlands of ‘Islamophobia’ over Burqa Ban,” by Simon Kent, Breitbart, October 8, 2019:
A Dutch ban on the wearing of face-covering garments such as the burqa which came into place in August has “no place” in a tolerant society, a U.N. representative said Monday.
Tendayi Achiume, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on racism, said the ban reflected a wider “consolidation of Islamophobia” in the Netherlands…
“From now on the wearing of clothing which covers the face is banned in educational facilities, public institutions and buildings, as well as hospitals and public transport,” the Dutch interior ministry said in a statement reported by AFP. Failure to abide by the law could result in a fine of €150 (£137/$167).
Denmark banned the burqa outright in 2018, while Austria banned it in 2017, Bulgaria and Latvia in 2016, and Belgium in 2011. There are also partial and regional bans in Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and Spain as part of a wider pan-European pushback against the restrictive garment….
“This law has no place in a society that prides itself in promoting gender equality,” Achiume said in a report on Monday after a week-long fact-finding trip to the Netherlands.
“The political debate surrounding the adoption of this law makes plain its intended targeting of Muslim women, and even if this targeting was not the intent, it has certainly been the effect.”