Swiss voters have narrowly approved a ban on wearing face coverings in public – from niqabs and burqas worn by Muslim women to ski masks and bandanas used by protesters.
The measure was supported by 51.2% of voters who participated in a referendum on Sunday.
AP reported that the measure would outlaw covering one’s face in public places such as restaurants, sports stadiums, public transport or simply walking in the street. There would be exceptions for religious sites, for security or health reasons, such as the wearing of Covid-19 face masks, and for traditional carnival celebrations.
The government has two years to draw up legislation to give effect to the referendum result.
The Swiss government had opposed the measure as excessive, arguing that full-face coverings were a ‘marginal phenomenon’. AP said experts estimated that at most a few dozen Muslim women wore full-face coverings in the country of 8.5 million people.
Backers of the move included the nationalist Swiss People’s Party, which is the strongest in parliament. Opponents of the ban decried the proposal as ‘absurd, useless and Islamophobic’.
According to the BBC, a leading Swiss Islamic group said it was ‘a dark day’ for Muslims.
The Central Council of Muslims, which intends challenging the decision in court, said in a statement: ‘Today’s decision opens old wounds, further expands the principle of legal inequality, and sends a clear signal of exclusion to the Muslim minority.’
Amnesty International described the proposed ban as ‘a dangerous policy that violates women’s rights, including to freedom of expression and religion’.
[Image: Elin Tabitha on Unsplash]