Finland’s Interior Minister, Mari Rantanen, (Finns) has confirmed to Yle that she supports a proposal put forward by 14 of her party colleagues earlier this week calling for a ban on face coverings in public places.
The proposal would effectively mean a ban on the wearing in public of the burka — a traditional garment worn by some Muslim women that covers the face and body — as well as the niqab, a veil for the face that leaves the area around the eyes clear.
The statement signed by the 14 Finns Party MPs notes that a similar restriction is already in place in “several European countries”, including France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.
Finns Party MP Ari Koponen, who submitted the proposal to parliament, told Yle earlier this week that the wearing of the coverings is a social custom and norm that is “not appropriate” in Finnish society.
“Of course, legislation must take into account exceptional circumstances, such as the use of face coverings due to weather conditions or the use of masks for health reasons. This has also been done in Switzerland, for example,” Koponen noted.
In an interview with Yle, Rantanen said that she supported the proposal because of security concerns, but also on the grounds of defending women’s rights.
“This is, of course, a question of security and identification. The second relates to the position of women, meaning that women in Finnish society have the right to keep their faces visible and to maintain the Finnish culture of openness and equality,” Rantanen said.
However, she added that she does not believe the initiative will pass into law during this parliamentary term, as there is no mention of such a ban in the current coalition’s programme for government.
“I could imagine that this might not be acceptable to other government partners,” Rantanen said.
Aside from Koponen, the full list of Finns Party MPs who signed the proposal includes Teemu Keskisarja, Onni Rostila, Miko Bergbom, Antti Kangas, Juho Eerola, Juha Mäenpää, Tomi Immonen, Merja Rasinkangas, Rami Lehtinen, Sanna Antikainen, Mikko Lundén, Mauri Peltokangas and Laura Huhtasaari.
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