Excerpt:
Sweden's schools and universities should be allowed to ban students and teachers from wearing face veils, education minister and Liberal Party leader Jan Björklund has said.
"Teaching is communication, it is about being able to look each other in the eye and in the face and to be able to communicate with each other. In this context I argue that it is extremely inappropriate to allow clothing that covers the face," Björklund, speaking in his capacity as party leader, told Swedish Radio.
Swedish law is currently unclear on the issue of schools' and universities' rights to prevent students from wearing face veils such as niqabs or burquas. An adult education college in Stockholm was last year reported to the Discrimination Ombudsman after it banned a student from wearing a veil in class. The case is still pending.