FRANCE-POLITICS-ISLAM-WOMEN-RIGHTS

(FILES) – Photo taken on March 25, 2005 of a young woman wearing the burka, the head-to-toe Islamic veil passing a book shop in Le Bourget, close to Paris. French lawmakers opened hearings on July 8, 2009 on whether to ban the burka, calling in experts who said France should act to discourage Muslim women from wearing the head-to-toe veil. AFP PHOTO JOEL ROBINE