Ban burqas across Europe: German EU lawmaker

Berlin: A German lawmaker says full-body veils, or burqas, worn by some Muslim women should be banned across Europe because they rob women of their personalities.

Silvana Koch-Mehrin, a member of the European parliament, wrote in an editorial on Saturday that fully covering women "openly supports values that we do not share in Europe."

Koch-Mehrin leads Germany's Free Democrats in Brussels. Her editorial for the Bild am Sonntag weekly come after Belgium proposed legislation to ban burqa-type clothing on grounds it violates basic security.

Some states in Germany ban public school teachers from wearing head scarves.

Koch-Mehrin said personal and religious freedom are to be supported, but should not "go so far as to take away a person's face in public."