Italian move to ban the burqa

AN ITALIAN parliamentary commission has approved a draft law banning women from wearing veils that cover their faces in public.

The constitutional affairs commission's bill would, if enacted, prohibit women from wearing a burqa, naqib or any other item that covers the face.

France and Belgium have already banned the wearing of burqa-style Islamic dress in public, as has one city in Spain.

The law was sponsored by Souad Sbai, a Moroccan-born member of Silvio Berlusconi's Freedom People's party.