Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen says women who fail to find a job because they wear a burqa should not receive unemployment benefit. If you are not prepared to compromise, he adds, you cannot expect to receive benefits intended for those genuinely trying to find employment.

Speaking in an interview in the daily newspaper Trouw, Mayor Cohen emphasized that he is opposed to a general ban on the burqa, since it is an expression of religious belief. However, in situations in which contact with other people is necessary, such as at school or in the workplace, he argues that women should choose a less restrictive head covering.
 

In 2007 an Amsterdam court stopped the council in nearby Diemen from cutting a woman's benefit for wearing a burqa. The Lower House of parliament then introduced a motion to allow councils to reduce benefits for burqa-wearers. A motion to halt benefits altogether was supported only by Geert Wilders' right-wing Freedom Party.