Spanish parliament to debate ban on public burqas

Spanish lawmakers will debate barring burqas in public, joining other European countries considering similar moves on the grounds that the body-covering garments are degrading to women, the leading opposition party said Sunday.
Top officials of the ruling Socialist Party have indicated they will support the proposal by the opposition Popular Party, making a ban likely unless the country's highest court rules it unconstitutional.
A debate in Spain's lower house has been set by the Popular Party for Tuesday or Wednesday, the party said.
No vote will be scheduled until after the debate, and Spain's Parliament usually goes on vacation for a month starting in late July or early August. Justice Minister Francisco Caamano said on June 15 that garments like the burqa are ``hardly compatible with human dignity.' Head-covering veils would not be included in a ban as they form apart of traditional Spanish dress, with women often covering their heads with a garment called a mantilla, especially during church services in the south of the country.
Other European nations that have debated regulating the use of body-covering burqas or face-covering niqabs include Belgium, the Netherlands and France.