Everyone should be able to see each other’s faces, the government argues.
The Norwegian government on Monday proposed a ban on full-face veils in schools, universities and kindergartens.
Oslo’s move follows in the footsteps of other European countries such as France, Belgium and the Netherlands, which also imposed restrictions on wearing burqas and niqabs.
Face-covering veils have “no place in Norwegian schools,” Per Sandberg, Norway’s acting immigration and integration minister, said in a statement. “It is a fundamental value to be able to communicate with each other.”
The government’s proposal is currently out for consultation and would apply to both public and private schools, and to staff and students. The ban would not apply to other headgear such as the hijab, the government said.
“Norway is an open society where everyone should be able to see each other’s faces,” Education Minister Røe Isaksen said.
Norway, governed by a coalition of the Conservatives and the populist Progress Party, will hold elections on September 11.
If the law passes, Norway would be the first Nordic country to introduce a ban on burqas for both adults and children, Reuters reported.
