SOFIA – A decision by Bulgaria parliament to ban full-face veil for Muslim women in public spaces has triggered criticism from rights groups, condemning it for violating freedom rights of the religious minority.
“Women in Bulgaria should be free to dress as they please and to wear the burqa or the niqab as an expression of their identity or beliefs. This ban violates their rights to freedom of expression and religion,” Amnesty International’s Europe Director, John Dalhuisen, said in a statement published late last week, Transitions Online magazine reported on Wednesday, October 5.
Dalhuisen’s criticism followed the proposal of a new “burqa ban” law in Bulgaria last Friday, September 30.
The law, pushed by the nationalist Patriotic Front coalition, echoes similar measures in western European countries such as France, Netherlands and Belgium which have various laws banning the wearing of burqas or niqabs.
According to the law, clothes hiding the face may not be worn in government offices, schools, cultural institutions and places of public recreation, but exceptions are allowed for health or professional reasons.
People who do not follow the ban face fines ranging from 200 lev to 1,500 lev ($114 to $857) for repeated offences, according to Reuters.
Part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, the country has a Muslim community composed of a large Turkish minority, though the burqa is more commonly worn by Roman Muslims.
Muslims make up about 12 percent of Bulgaria’s 7.2 million population and most belong to a centuries-old community, largely ethnic Turks.
The Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms refused to take part in the vote, which followed full-face veils ban in public in several Bulgarian towns.
It said the ban it would incite ethnic and religious intolerance.
The ruling center-right party said the ban has nothing to do with religious outfits but only aimed at boosting national security and allowing better video surveillance.
“The law is not directed against religious communities and is not repressive,” ruling GERB’s senior lawmaker Krasimir Velchev said.
“We made a very good law for the safety of our children.”
However, Amnesty International’s Europe Director rejected this rhetoric, saying the law reflects xenophobia and intolerance.
“This law is part of a disturbing trend of intolerance, xenophobia and racism in Bulgaria,” he said.
“Legitimate security concerns can be met with targeted restrictions on the complete covering of the face in well-defined high-risk locations and not through a blanket discriminatory ban such as this,” he added.