A Dutch city council apologizes after banning a woman in niqab from entering a playground

Days after the niqab ban came into force in the Netherlands, Dutch council staff got everything mixed up. Dutch organization Meld Islamofobie reported, Sunday, that a woman wearing niqab, who was with her cousin and her children, was banned from entering a playground in Nijmegen, a Dutch province of Gelderland.  

The woman was told to «take off [her] niqab or leave the park» by the guards. Her cousin then immediately called the police, who said that the guardian's words were not true. 

On the same day, Nijmegen’s city council apologized on Twitter after realizing that the ban does not apply to playgrounds.

Vanmiddag ontstond in de Leemkuil discussie over het al dan niet toestaan van een mevrouw in niqaab. Overleg met de politie leerde dat het ‘boerkaverbod’ niet geldt voor een speeltuin. De gemeente bood de mevrouw excuses aan voor het misverstand.

— Gemeente Nijmegen (@gem_Nijmegen) 4 août 2019

For the record, the burqa ban came into force on August the 1st in the Netherlands, prohibiting Muslim women from wearing full-face veils in some public places. The law, passed in 2018, imposes a fine of 150 euros on burqa and niqab-wearing women in several facilities, including hospitals and schools.

While the new law stirred controversy in the European country, with people who think that it is an inapplicable measure, Dutch-Moroccans living in the Netherlands told Yabiladi, Friday, that the ban is «provocative and Islamophobic».