A law that forbids any kind of full-face covering, including Islamic veils such as the niqab or burqa, has come into force in Austria.

Wearing a ski mask off the slopes, a surgical mask outside hospitals and party masks in public has been prohibited.

The law, popularly known as the “Burqa Ban,” is mostly seen as a directed at the dress worn by some Muslim women in the country, news agency AP reported.

British newspaper Telegraph reported that  a woman wearing a niqab  was seen being told to remove her veil by two police officers in Zell am See, a city south of Saltzburg.

Only a small number of Muslim women in Austria wear full-face veils, but they have become a target for right-wing groups and political parties.

France and Belgium have similar laws. The nationalist Alternative for Germany party is calling for one there too.