Veils to be removed for signing signatures
Source: Agencies |
March 6, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MUSLIM women in Australia's most populous state will have to remove veils to have their signatures officially witnessed under new laws giving New South Wales officials authority to look under religious face coverings.
New South Wales state Attorney General Greg Smith said yesterday that from April 30, officials such as justices of the peace and lawyers who witness statutory declarations or affidavits without making identity checks will be fined A$220 (US$236).
"If a person is wearing a face covering, an authorized witness should politely and respectfully ask them to show their face," Smith said.
The laws are a response to a court case last year in which a Sydney woman was convicted of falsely claiming that a policeman had attempted to remove her niqab - a veil that reveals only the eyes.
A judge overturned the conviction because the official who witnessed the false claim did not look under the veil of the person who made it, so the judge was not certain that the defendant was responsible.
The laws were passed in December by the state parliament. They follow New South Wales laws passed last year that introduced a A$5,500 fine and a 12-month jail term for anyone who refuses to remove face coverings when requested to do so by police.
Ikebal Patel, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said most Muslims did not object. "I don't object as long as the laws are enforced with sensitivity," Patel said.
Australia's population of 23 million includes some 400,000 Muslims.
New South Wales state Attorney General Greg Smith said yesterday that from April 30, officials such as justices of the peace and lawyers who witness statutory declarations or affidavits without making identity checks will be fined A$220 (US$236).
"If a person is wearing a face covering, an authorized witness should politely and respectfully ask them to show their face," Smith said.
The laws are a response to a court case last year in which a Sydney woman was convicted of falsely claiming that a policeman had attempted to remove her niqab - a veil that reveals only the eyes.
A judge overturned the conviction because the official who witnessed the false claim did not look under the veil of the person who made it, so the judge was not certain that the defendant was responsible.
The laws were passed in December by the state parliament. They follow New South Wales laws passed last year that introduced a A$5,500 fine and a 12-month jail term for anyone who refuses to remove face coverings when requested to do so by police.
Ikebal Patel, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said most Muslims did not object. "I don't object as long as the laws are enforced with sensitivity," Patel said.
Australia's population of 23 million includes some 400,000 Muslims.
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