Germany to ban face veils in universities

Germany’s interior minister has announced plans to ban university students from wearing full face veils.

Thomas de Maizière said that he wanted his country to adopt similar rules to France, in which full face veils would not be allowed to be worn in schools and colleges, The New York Times reported.

It would also be an offence to drive while wearing a burka, which would also be banned from courts, public registry offices or when going through passport control, Mr de Maizière said.

“The burka doesn’t fit with our country and does not correspond to our understanding of the role of women,” he explained.

“We want to make it a legal requirement to show your face in places where that is necessary for the cohesion of our society,” he added.

The proposed changes follow a ruling by a German court that upheld a school’s decision to stop an 18-year-old Muslim student from entering its premises while wearing a niqab – a religious garment that conceals the entire body and face apart from the eyes.

An administrative court in Osnabrück, in northwest Germany, rejected the appeal by the German-born student when she did not appear for her hearing, The Independent reported.

The call to ban the burka from schools and universities follows growing concern over the integration of immigrants in Germany, which has accepted more than 1 million migrants in the past year.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com