The Netherlands has approved a ban on “face-covering clothing” including the burqa and niqab in some public places.
The limited prohibition, which will not block women from wearing the hijab, applies on public transport and in hospitals and Government buildings.
In a vote on Tuesday, the country’s parliament upper chamber made the final approval.
Wilders' Freedom Party claimed the development as a major victory, while Senator Marjolein Faber-Van de Klashorst called it "a historical day because this is the first step to de-Islamize the Netherlands."
"This is the first step and the next step is to close all the mosques in the Netherlands," she said, building on Wilders' anti-Islam rhetoric.
The Dutch law is described by the government as "religion-neutral," and does not go as far as more extensive bans in neighbouring countries like France and Belgium.
The ban also covers ski masks and full-face helmets.
The government said people still have full freedom on how to dress, except when it is necessary to have full facial contact - for instance in education and health-related situations.
The ban does not apply to public streets, although police can ask an individual to remove face-covering clothing for identification.
"This is actually virtually a complete ban because the only spaces that are still available for women (who wear face-covering clothing) are the street and the private sector," said Annelies Moors, professor of Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Amsterdam. "And, of course, the private sector can also have their house rules, they could also possibly legislate against their presence. So this leaves women very little space."
"It is completely disproportionate and the only effect will be that many of these women will stay at home even more," said Green Party senator Ruard Ganzevoort.
"They will not have an opportunity to go to school. They will not have an opportunity to go to learn to swim, and all those things."
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