Norway has proposed a ban on face-covering Muslim veils in kindergartens, schools, and universities, the country’s latest effort to increase restrictions on body- and face-covering burqas and niqabs, Reuters reports.
Norway’s minority government, a coalition of center-right Conservatives and populists of the Progress Party, proposed the measure on Monday, saying they believed the ban would be approved by the opposition.
Should women choose to wear the garment, students could face expulsion from colleges, and employees could be fired.
“Face-covering garment such as the niqab or burqa do not belong in Norwegian schools. The ability to communicate is a basic value,” Per Sandberg, acting minister of immigration and integration, said during a press conference.
France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria, and the German state of Bavaria all have restrictions on full-face veils being worn publicly. Norway is the first Nordic country to introduce a burqa ban on both adults and children.