28-Year-Old Woman Becomes First To Be Fined In Denmark For Wearing Niqab

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Demonstration on the first day of the Danish face veil ban in Denmark August 1, 2018 (Reuters)Stockholm, Sweden: A 28-year-old woman
wearing a niqab on Friday became the first person in Denmark to be fined for violating a new controversial law banning full-face Islamic
veils in public places, media reported.Police were called to a shopping centre in Horsholm, in the northeastern region of Nordsjaelland,
where the woman had become involved in a scuffle with another woman who had tried to tear her niqab off, police duty officer David
Borchersen told the Ritzau news agency."During the fight her niqab came off, but by the time we arrived she had put it back on again,"
Borchersen said.Police took a photograph of the woman wearing the niqab, and obtained security camera footage from the shopping centre of
the incident.The woman was informed she would receive a fine of 1,000 kroner ($156, 134 euros) in the post, and was told to either remove
her veil or leave the public space."She chose the latter," Borchersen said.As of August 1, wearing a burqa, which covers a person's entire
face, or the niqab, which only shows the eyes, in public carries a fine of 1,000 kroner.Repeated violations are fined up to 10,000
kroner.The ban also targets other accessories that hide the face such as balaclavas, masks and false beards.Human rights campaigners have
slammed the ban as a violation of women's rights, while supporters argue it enables better integration of Muslim immigrants into Danish
society.The full-face veil is a hot-button issue across Europe.Belgium, France, Germany and Austria have already imposed bans or partial
bans.