Ban The Burka?, a current issue in some EU countries

[grumpy]

For those who have never heard the term "burka", it refers to a veil covering the face, worn by muslim women in countries with muslim majorities aswell as many european states.
Belgium has recently banned the wearing of face coverings by law in public places and implemented a fine system for those caught wearing it. France,Italy and Spain are still considering future legislation on the topic
Is this justifiable, in your opinion, or a sign of intolerance?

[Ed]

From my understanding it is not actually an Islamic custom yet tribal, in the Qur'an it states women should 'dress modestly', it does not state they should cover their faces.

In those tribes it is an oppressive male dominance which forces females to wear them, in the EU as a constitutional right, females are given equal rights to males.

Rather than 'banning the burka' we should be addressing the bigger issue which is social integration for these individuals, obscuring of the face and male dominance within the Islamic community. I don't think criminalising someone who is following their beliefs (or is being forced to do so by their spouse / male relations) is the correct approach.

We should be offering them outlets, ones to help them get over self conciousness that causes them to want to hide behind a veil and the male oppression, have laws against this, not the wearing of the burka; In addition police should be given the right by law to request someone to remove any obscurity over their face, not strictly pertaining to religion but the bigger picture, hoodies, bike helmets (obviously while not on a bike) in public places, but not by default but by request, yes not easy to police but it would have an adverse effect, if women in burkas kept getting approached by the police to ask them to remove it, there's a possibility they would not want to be hassled each time and resort to not wearing a full face veil and something a little more modest and fitting with the current society.

So overall, I don't believe 'banning the burka' is a good approach, there's problems which bubble under the surface which need to be addressed more than the actual wearing of the burka.