Russian authorities want to impose fines for wearing the niqab
Deputies have introduced a bill in the State Duma banning the wearing of niqabs and any other clothing that covers the face. Examples cited include the ban on wearing such clothing in Central Asian countries.
According to the bill, the first fine for violating the law will be 10,000 to 15,000 rubles, and a repeat fine will be 15,000 to 30,000 rubles. Exceptions are provided for individuals with medical conditions, residents of Siberia and the Far East in adverse weather conditions, security forces on duty, and members of the Russian Community organization when accompanied by police. They are permitted to wear any clothing that conceals the face.
One of the bill's authors, Deputy Mikhail Matveyev, cited the experience of Central Asian countries, believing that the ban will help prevent the entry of radical elements and complicate drug trafficking and terrorist activities.
The topic of banning the niqab in Russia has surfaced periodically, most recently following the conflict in the Moscow metro. There, a woman saw a Muslim woman wearing a niqab on the train and tried to rip it off. The first woman was arrested for disorderly conduct for a week, while the man who stood up for the woman received a longer sentence and became a defendant in a criminal case.
