The new law, which came into force on Saturday, will see women wearing the full veil in public issued with a fine of €137.5 ($197) and up to seven days in jail. Belgium is the second European country to impose a ban after France.
The two women said will take their case to the country’s constitutional court to request a suspension of the law.
“We consider the law a disproportionate intrusion into fundamental rights such as the freedom of religion and expression,” Ines Wouters, the lawyer representing the two women challenging the ban, told the newspaper La Libre.
The new law, which bans any clothing that obscures the identity of the wearer in public places, was passed almost unanimously by the lower house of parliament in April 2010.
French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, last year labelled the burqa “a sign of servitude” and said it was not welcome in France, which is home to about five million Muslims. Offenders in France are fined €150 ($216) and ordered to attend citizenship classes.
source : http://abna.ir/
