Netherlands Will Extend Proposed Burka Ban To Higher Education

In the Netherlands, Education Minister Ronald Plasterk has told Parliament that a planned law to ban wearing of the burka and niqab in elementary and secondary schools (see prior posting) will be extended to institutions of higher education as well. These are garments that cover the body and the face which are worn by Muslim women. According to a report from AFP on Wednesday, the step was taken because of pressure from a majority in Parliament even though the original justification for the ban was that children needed to be able to see the other person's face in order to learn proper communication. The ban would apply to students, faculty, parents and custodial workers. An Education Ministry spokesman said the law would affect only a handful of people in higher education in the country, and that since it was not the ministry's idea, it could not explain the reasoning behind the extension of the ban.