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"Starting today, women who walk the streets in France wearing a burqa or a niqab--traditionally Islamic garments that cover the face--will be subject to $215 fines or forced to attend citizenship classes under controversial new law.\nPinterestFacebookFrench president Nicolas Sarkozy says the veils, which cover everything but a woman&amp;#39;s eyes, imprison women and contradict the secular country&amp;#39;s &amp;quot;values of dignity and equality.&amp;quot; Here&amp;#39;s a bit of background on the new law, its implications, and what French citizens have to say about it, courtesy of CNN:\nThough the law is scarcely a day old, reports have already surfaced that women have been detained for violating it. Writes The Associated Press, &amp;quot;France&amp;#39;s new ban on Islamic face veils was met with a burst of defiance Monday, as several women appeared veiled in front of Paris&amp;#39; Notre Dame Cathedral and two were detained for taking part in an unauthorized protest...About a dozen people, including three women wearing niqab veils with just a slit for the eyes, staged a protest in front of Notre Dame on Monday, saying the ban is an affront to their freedom of expression and religion.&amp;quot;\nI&amp;#39;m so curious to know what you ladies have to say about this issue. Do you find the ban offensive? Do you think women should be allowed to wear whatever they want, wherever they want? Or does a burqa strip women of &amp;quot;dignity and equality,&amp;quot; as President Sarkozy says, and deserves to be banned? Do you think that dictating that a woman cannot cover her face in public is just as anti-libertarian as dictating that she must? Do you dress with any religious or cultural restrictions? Would you be offended if that right were taken away from you? What do you make of the burqa ban in France? Discuss.\nPLUS:\n\nWomen in Danger: How you can help\n\nAND\n\nMeet the woman who teaches peace to mortal enemies\n\nMore Ways to Get Glamour:\nGet the latest fashion updates via Twitter on @glamour_fashion\nCheck our chic new Tumblr!\nRead Glamour magazine on your iPad!\nLike freebies? Enter the latest Glamour sweepstakes!\nSign up for our fashion and beauty newsletters to get easy style tips (it&amp;#39;ll make your inbox 10x sexier, we promise).\nAnd, did you know you can read glamour.com on your smart phone?! It&amp;#39;s the ultimate boredom buster.\nPhoto: Getty Images\nWant even more STF? Follow us on Twitter!\nLatest Tweets!\nFollow us on Twitter!"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/story/frances-burqa-ban-goes-into-ef>