BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVED A BAN ON WEARING BURQA IN PUBLIC

Bulgaria’s Parliament passed on 30th of September at second reading a law banning the wearing of clothing partly concealing or hiding the face in public places on the territory of Bulgaria, known as the “burqa ban”.

The law forbids the wearing in public of clothing disguising or concealing the face, whether solid or translucent clothing, cloaks, blankets, veils, masks and other items, which partly cover of fully hide the face.

The penalty for a first offence will be 200 BGN and 1,500 BGN for second and further offences. If the offenders are public officials, the fine for a first offence will be 500 BGN and 2,000 BGN for second and further offences.

The provisions of the law will not apply if the covering of the face is necessary for health reasons, professional reasons, during sports events or cultural, educational or other events, places of prayer of registered religious denominations and when by law it is stated otherwise.

Before the start of the debate on the draft of the law, MPs from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms proposed the debates on the draft be dropped down from the agenda of the National Assembly.

Krassimir Karakachanov, co-leader of the nationalist Patriotic Front, made the opposite proposal pointing out that this law was an attempt to stop the division of society and its opposition on religious grounds He said that the burqa was more a uniform than a religious symbol.

During the debate, Yordan Tsonev from MRF said that while it was claimed that the law was about national security, the fact was that it was of purely political and electoral character that would inculcate division of society and religious and other types of intolerance.

In protest against the adoption of the law, the MRF parliamentary group walked out.

Чуйте последните новини, където и да сте!
Последвайте ни във Facebook и Instagram
Следете и канала на БНТ в YouTube
Вече може да ни гледате и в TikTok
Намерете ни в Google News