Woman Fined $156 for Wearing Face Veil in Denmark

An Afghan woman peers through the the eye slit of her burqa as she waits to try on a new burqa in shop in the old town of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

HELSINKI—A 28-year-old woman wearing a face veil has become the first person in Denmark to be fined for violating a new law banning such garments in public places.

Danish news agency Ritzau reported that police were called to a shopping center in Horsholm, a city of some 46,000 inhabitants close to Copenhagen, on Friday to confront a woman wearing a niqab garment covering her face.

The woman was slapped with a fine of 1,000 Danish kroner ($156) and requested to either remove the veil or leave the premises. She opted to leave.

Since Aug.1, the country’s much-debated “Burqa Ban” has prohibited full-body burqas, as well the niqab — Muslim dress which only shows the eyes. Both are rare in Denmark. Other European countries have similar bans.