Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris confirmed on Friday that the conservative government of New Democracy is considering a ban on the burka, the garment covering Islamic women from head to toe.
He said, there are countries that ban the burka, and in fact the European Court of Human Rights considers the ban to be legal.
“We are not talking about the headscarf, the burka is the complete covering of a woman’s facial features. Greece does not have the burka issue as a problem like other European countries”, the Minister noted during a speech at the Parliament.
He added that “however, it concerns us and we are examining at least in one aspect that has to do with minors – who do not have the choice at that moment and it is imposed on them.
Plevris revealed that this possibility for minors is being considered in the first phase, but no decision has been made yet.
“We do not want the child to go to school or to structures where minors are accommodated with a burka”, he stated characteristically.
Media reported recently that Deputy Migration Minister Sevi Voloudaki had conducted a study about what applies on the use of burka across Europe.
