Belgium: Police recommend only female agents ID burka-wearers

Belgium: Police recommend only female agents ID burka-wearers

It should be noted that in some places in Belgium, including Brussels and Antwerp, the local police has regulations against wearing a burka.

Apparently, this recommendation is based on the fact that women have a right to demand that only a female agent ID them. A month ago the Antwerp police stopped a burka-wearer, a tourist from Qatar, and notified her she was not allowed to wear a burka. While checking her ID the police had to ask the woman to reveal her face. The Muslim woman was only willing to do that with a female agent, and had a right to request that. After Id'ing her, the woman had two choices: either continue with her face uncovered, or take a taxi back to her hotel. If she would have been stopped again, she would have been fined. (Dutch)

At the time, Filip Dewinter asked his Vlaams Belang supporters to report women wearing burkas, claiming that despite the police regulations on the issue, the police were not doing anything against women wearing burkas.

-------------

Male police agents may not longer ID women in burkas. From now on this task will only be assigned to the few female agents of the police.

This according to a new memo sent by the federal police to the police departments, report the Corelio media group papers today.

Senator Dirk Claes (CD&V) thinks this guidelines will lead to burka-wearers not being checked anymore, and asks to repel them.



According to Astrid Kaisin, spokesperson for the federal police, the memo will be reconsidered.

Kaisin says that the memo still exists but that there has already been a response and it was decided to reconsider the issue. This will happen in cooperation with the local police. She ads that it's not a regulation, but rather a recommendation.

The spokesperson say there are now two possibilities: either the memo would be scrapped or they'll introduce some changes to it.

Source: HLN 1, 2 (Dutch)

See also:
* Brussels: Protesting in a niqab
* Antwerp: Protests against headscarf ban, call to snitch on burka-wearers