Although supportive of the proposal, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finland) told Yle that it was unlikely to be adopted during this government’s term.

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The Finnish Minister of the Interior, Mari Rantanen(Finnish) confirmed to Yle that she supports a proposal presented earlier this week by 14 of her party colleagues calling for a ban on the wearing of masks in public places.

The proposal would effectively mean a ban on the public wearing of the burka – a traditional garment worn by some Muslim women that covers the face and body – as well as the niqab, a facial veil that leaves the area around the eyes unobstructed. .

The statement signed by the 14 Finns Party MPs notes that a similar restriction is already in place in “several European countries”, including France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.

Finnish Party MP Ari Koponenwho submitted the proposal to Parliament, told Yle earlier this week that wearing these coverings is a custom and social norm that is “not appropriate” in Finnish society.

“Of course, legislation must take into account exceptional circumstances, such as wearing masks due to weather conditions or using masks for health reasons. This has also been done in Switzerland, for example,” Koponen emphasized .

In an interview with Yle, Rantanen said she supported the proposal for security reasons, but also for women’s rights reasons.

“It is of course a question of security and identification. The second concerns the position of women, which means that women in Finnish society have the right to keep their faces visible and maintain the Finnish culture of openness and equality,” Rantanen said. said.

However, she added that she did not think the initiative would be adopted during this legislature, as no mention of such a ban is made in the current coalition’s government program.

“I imagine this might not be acceptable to other government partners,” Rantanen said.

Besides Koponen, the full list of Finns Party MPs who signed the proposal includes Teemu Keskisarja, Onni Rostila, Miko Bergbom, Antti Kangas, Juho Eerola, Juha Mäenpää, Tomi Immonen, Merja Rasinkangas, Rami Lehtinen, Sanna Antikainen, Mikko Lundén, Mauri Peltokangas And Laura Huhtasaari.