May 19 (Reuters) - The French cabinet approved a bill on Wednesday to outlaw the wearing in public of full face veils known as niqabs and burqas.
Here is a summary of policies in some countries on veils and other religious symbols:
* FRANCE: The French government has approved a full prohibition on wearing face-covering veils. The opposition Socialist Party has proposed only banning them from certain public places such as municipal offices. Polls show a majority of voters approve of a complete ban.
— Almost 10 percent of France’s 62 million population is Muslim. It banned headscarves from state primary and secondary schools in 2004 under a law against conspicuous religious symbols that also included Jewish kippas and large Christian crosses.
— Women at university can wear headscarves, since they are adults. Teachers and other civil servants may not wear any religious symbols at work.
* BELGIUM: Belgium’s lower house voted in favour of banning the full veil last month, a move that, if ratified by the Senate, could make it the first country to rule it a criminal offence. However it is unlikely to become law soon because the government has collapsed and parliament is due to be dissolved.
* GERMANY: Policy is a matter for individual states, not the federal government.
— Seven of Germany’s 16 states have banned teachers in state schools from wearing Islamic headscarves, angering Muslim groups who say it discriminates against them.
— The majority of Germany’s roughly 3.2 million Muslims are of Turkish origin.
ITALY: Italy has not passed any national legislation but some towns have been trying to ban burqas with local decrees.
— A 1975 law punishes with fines and up to two years in jail those who cover their face with anything that prevents their identification by police.
— A 26-year-old Tunisian woman was fined for wearing a face veil while walking to a mosque in the northern Italian city of Novara in May, stoking an increasing debate on the integration of Muslim minorities in Europe.
— Italian police handed the Tunisian woman a 500-euro fine under a bylaw introduced in January by the mayor of Novara which bans clothing in public that prevents identification by police.
* NETHERLANDS: The Dutch government is set to retreat from a plan for a general ban on Muslim veils, but stop women wearing them in schools and government offices.
— The cabinet has decided against a broad ban on the burqa, a complete head-to-toe covering, or the niqab, which leaves the eyes uncovered, in public as that would violate the principle of freedom of religion.
— The Muslim community says very few women wear the burqa or the niqab. They said a general ban would heighten alienation among the country’s 1 million Muslims.
SWITZERLAND: While federal leaders mostly oppose a national ban on face veils, right-wing politicians in Aargau, Bern and Solothurn cantons have launched efforts to impose regional bans.
* TURKEY: Mainly Muslim but constitutionally secular, Turkey has banned Islamic headdress in universities and public offices. But parliament on Feb. 9 resoundingly approved constitutional changes aimed at lifting a ban on female students wearing the headscarf in universities. President Abdullah Gul approved the reform.
