(Yle) 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.
