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A 26-year-old Tunisian woman has been fined for wearing a face veil while walking to a mosque in northern Italy, stoking an increasing debate on the integration of Muslim minorities in Europe.Police in the city of Novara, a stronghold of Italy's anti-immigration Northern League, stopped the Muslim woman on Friday while she was walking with her husband to prayers wearing a black niqab that covered her face but left her eyes exposed.Police handed her a 500-euro fine under a bylaw introduced in January by the mayor of Novara which bans clothing in public that prevents identification by police."We just enforced a local law that stops people from covering their face near sensitive places like schools, hospitals or post offices," inspector Leonardo Borghesani told Reuters. "We understand the fine is hefty, but she can appeal."The Northern League, a coalition ally of conservative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, is pushing for legislation to outlaw face-covering Islamic garments in public.That would follow in the footsteps of Belgium and France, where similar laws are expected to come into force in the next few months.WOMEN'S DIGNITYPromoters of bans say the veils go against public security and negate the dignity of women.Initiatives towards a full veil ban have sparked protests from Muslim leaders in Europe, who resent laws that could discriminate against them on religious grounds.The woman's husband defended the Islamic tradition."I respect the Italian law. I have been living here for 10 years," he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. "But Amel can't be seen by other men."The Northern League mayor of Novara said face-covering veils demean women. "We can't accept cultures that destroy women's dignity," Massimo Giordano said in a statement.The controversy came a day after Belgium's lower house of parliament gave initial approval to legislation that include fines of 15-25 euros and up to seven days in jail for those wearing a full facial veil.The Northern League has recently lodged a draft bill, which could be amended in parliament, that reflects the Belgian proposal but could lead to heftier fines of 250-500 euros."Our law intends to favour people's integration with the hosting country's culture, not segregation," the Northern League's Paolo Grimoldi, who drafted the bill, told Reuters.(Editing by Daniel Flynn and Mark Heinrich)
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