Germany: Bill on burqa ban gets nod of lower house, public servants can't wear veil

Germany: Bill on burqa ban gets nod of lower house, public servants can't wear veil(परदा)

A law has been approved by the members of Germany's lower house of parliament that partially bans the burqa or the full-face Islamic veil, the media reported on Friday.  According to reports, civil servants, judges and soldiers will be prevented from wearing burqa at work through this bill which will now go to the upper house. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said that how far the tolerance towards other cultures would go in Germany is what the burqa ban shows.

Right-wing parties want Germany to emulate(अनुकरण करना) France where a total ban on wearing burqas in public places as has been in force since 2011. 

Last December, Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a ban on full-face veils wherever legally possible, saying they were not appropriate in her country.

In February, the state of Bavaria announced plans to ban the full-face veil in government workplaces, schools, universities(विश्वविद्यालयों) and while driving, reports the BBC.

More than a million migrants including many Middle Eastern Muslims, have entered Germany over the last 18 months.

The move follows several terror attacks, including one on a Berlin Christmas market that claimed 12 lives.

France, Austria, Belgium and Turkey have all imposed a ban in certain public spaces. Legislation (कानून)supporting a ban is in progress in the Netherlands, while local bans apply in other nations including Denmark, Russia, Spain and Switzerland.