The Reverend Fred Nile today tried to introduce a bill to the NSW Parliament calling for a ban on the burqa, a head and body veil worn by some Muslim women. But his motion to have a private member's bill read and debated failed by three votes to 29 – only he and two Shooters' Party members voted for it.
The Christian Democrats MP wanted NSW to follow a growing list of European countries that have moved to ban women from wearing the full head and body covering in public.
Mr Nile's Full-face Coverings Prohibition Bill was modelled on legislation recently passed by the Belgium Parliament. He says concealment of a person's face – male or female – for any purpose, including terrorism, anarchism or discrimination against women, should be banned.
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'We must do all we can to protect women, especially Muslim women, from discrimination and oppression so they live an open lifestyle,' Mr Nile said. 'The wearing of the burqa is a form of oppression which has no place in the 21st century.' It also presented a security risk, he said, citing terrorists in the Middle East and Russia who had launched attacks while concealing their identity or weapons under a burqa.
Mr Nile introduced a similar bill in 2006 and 2002, prompting widespread condemnation. (dar)
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