It is my understanding that the same "Saudi dictators" mentioned by traveller refuse to allow their fellow Muslim pilgrims to cover their faces when performing the Hajj. If you can't wear the burka in Mecca, Islam's holiest place,how and why does it suddenly become a religious duty for some Muslims to wear it in Mechelen, for example?

I thought that in Belgium, it is forbidden to hide ones face. So I don’t see the problem. People with a burka should be brought in, and fined heavily. End of discussion.

Laws are by essence general, unpersonal and apply identically to every person, notwithstanding distinctions based on race, gender and religion. These are the tenets of the anti-discrimination liberal elite, happily overriden by the very members of this elite. Rule of law is no longer a feature of Belgian society. To boot, it is a gaping loophole that could allow terrorists to crossdress and pretend they are women and thus could not be searched. The degeneration of our states draw closer by the minutes, and I think the worst thing about it is that next to no-one will acknowledge it. Particular rights for particular groups undermine the rule of law and are a step backwards contributing to the looming demise of our structures (and their eventual replacement by lesser, alien forms of government).

These sort of "sensitivity" directives are more appropriate for forces engaged in counter-insurgency or peacekeeping.  Tensions and disunity are only concealed due to the sensible reluctance of indigenous Flemings, Walloons, Germans and French to demand the same privileges as the Islamic minority.  Such demands could only cause the dissolution of the Belgian state.  Perhaps then, the Muslims could be excluded from the reform of the Low Countries, and left with a patchwork of neighborhoods and districts, they could achieve the autonomy from the European states, societies and economies that they so long for.  Or do they expect to pledge false allegiance to the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France, and continue their parasitic leeching of state funds and services, systems established and maintained by their hosts ostensibly for their hosts.

@ Atlanticist

Voice recognition might provide an 'initial' (though not foolproof) solution.  Presumably, a policeman facing Kappert might 'recognise' a female voice.

The spectacle of burkas in Brussels, or anywhere else in the West, is indicative of cultural degradation. It is a sign of (a) naive-leftist misguided 'tolerance' (of the intolerable) in collusion with (b) absurd 'libertarian' attitudes that 'emasculate' the necessary police and security services.  Meanwhile, while governments tolerate absurd behavior (e.g. like wearing burkas), they increasingly try to control thoughts and 'speech'.   Eurabia is coming fast.  

Unless and until identity is established, how is one to know that the individual wearing the burka IS a woman?