World News for Students of English

12-08-2019 07:00

Recently, new laws went into effect in the Netherlands. The laws make it illegal for people to wear face-covering garments like burqas in public buildings or on public transportation. People are calling the laws a “burqa ban.”

Officially, if you are wearing something which the law bans, you must pay a fine. However, hospital and transportation employees told media that it is not a priority for them to check on people and call the police.

The Netherlands is the latest European country to have laws like this. Apart from Bulgaria, the countries are traditionally considered Western – Denmark, France, Belgium, and Austria all have bans against face coverings in public places.

Last year, the United Nations said that France is breaking human rights. It said that because of these laws, Muslim women must stay home.

Difficult words: garment (something that you wear), burqa (a long piece of clothing which covers the whole body), fine (money which you must pay for doing something wrong).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.