France prepares to ban burqa

PARIS, May 12 (UPI) -- France's Parliament is taking the first step toward banning Muslim women from wearing a burqa or full-body niqab in public, lawmakers say.

The legislative body has approved a non-binding resolution that states "wearing of the full veil is contrary to the values of the republic" and "violates the dignity and equality between men and women," The Daily Telegraph reports.

Next week, France's Cabinet will examine a full draft bill imposing fines on women who wear the full veil and jail sentences of up to a year for men convicted of forcing them to cover up.

The law will also apply to tourists from the Middle East and Gulf states who visit France.

France's Council of the Muslim Faith has warned the ban risks making French Muslims feel like outcasts.

Statistics indicate fewer than 2,000 of the 2 million Muslim women in France wear the full veil.