Have France banned the Burqa?

We've already debated about banning the burqa. Now that France has banned it will it make the women who wore them more repressed?

• Answer:

  1) It will restrict their freedom if they wished to wear it. They might also prefer to stay home to respect their idea of Islam. Or: they might be constrained to stay home from family members. 2) France did not just ban the burqa, they prohibited the wearing of burqas, niqābs and other full-length veils covering the face in public. "The law imposes a fine of €150 for those who violate the law. The bill will also penalise, with a fine of €30,000 and one year in prison, anyone who requires another to wear face coverings. This fine will be doubled if the victim being forced to wear face coverings is a minor. The ban will go into effect in six months' time (March 2011) unless it is overturned by the Constitutional Council of France." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ban_on_full_length_Islamic_veils 3) Here the position of Amnesty International, who opposes the ban: ""Governments should instead be looking to strengthen efforts to combat the discrimination faced by Muslim women, both in their communities and in the broader societies in which they live. Their focus should be on empowering women to make their own choices, rather than limiting the range of choices available to them. "Legitimate security concerns can be met by targeted restrictions on the complete covering of the face in well-defined high risk locations. "Individuals may also be required to reveal their faces when objectively necessary, for instance for identity checks. French law already allows for such limited restrictions," said John Dalhuisen." Source and further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/france-votes-ban-full-face-veils-2010-07-13