The Swiss government sent a bill to parliament on Wednesday (12) that sets a fine of 1,000 Swiss francs (about R$5,300) for violating a national ban on covering the face in public. The proposal, initiated by the right, won with 51% of the vote in a referendum last year.
While it does not mention Islam directly, local politicians, press and activists refer to the measure as the “burqa ban”. Veto supporters call face coverings a symbol of extremist political Islam.
According to the government, one of the goals is to prevent violent protesters from wearing masks at protests. The cabinet, however, did not link the project to the penal code and vetoed the initially proposed fine of ten times the approved amount.
According to a government statement, “The ban on covering faces is intended to ensure security and public order. Punishment is not the priority.”
Exemptions were included, such as permission to wear face coverings on flights, diplomatic and prayer places. Artistic performances and advertising are also exempt.
Muslim groups condemned the vote as discriminatory and vowed to challenge it in court. Muslims make up around 5% of the Swiss population, the majority with roots in Turkey, Bosnia and Kosovo, making up a contingent of around 400,000 people. Few women wear a burqa in Switzerland and only about 30 wear the niqab, estimates the University of Lucerne.
According to the project, eyes, nose and mouth must be visible. A football fan may, for example, wear a cap or hood, but not a balaclava. A Muslim woman can wear a hijab — a scarf covering her hair — but not a niqab, which only shows her eyes, or a burqa that covers her entire body.
The ban applies to all public or private spaces accessible to the public, such as schools, courts, hospitals, transport, restaurants, shops, cinemas and sports halls.
The proposal predates the pandemic, but face coverings for health and safety reasons are exempt from the ban, meaning masks worn because of the Covid-19 pandemic will not be affected.
Switzerland must join other countries with similar laws. France banned the use of full-face veils in 2011 and Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and Bulgaria also banned all or part of the wearing of face coverings in public.
The initiative behind the referendum was launched in 2016 by the Egerkingen Committee, an association that also successfully pushed for a vote to ban the construction of new minarets (mosque towers) in 2009, and which has ties to the Swiss People, a right.
At the time of the referendum, Amnesty International condemned the decision: “The ban on the wearing of the veil is not a measure to liberate women, but a dangerous symbolic policy that violates freedom of expression and religion,” it said in a statement.
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