Burqa and niqab are prohibited, as are masks and veils. This is what the Swiss people decided in a referendum. 51.2% supported this solution. Electors.
This time, the proposal approved by voters differed from that of 2009, when in 2009 the Swiss government proposed adopting legislation banning covering your face when dealing with officials. This year’s proposal, put forward by the far right, concerns all places in the public space.
The initiative sparked a lot of excitement in Switzerland and was repeatedly criticized for having fewer than 100 women wearing the burqa and niqab across the country. In addition, the Swiss government launched a campaign against the ban. But the final vote belongs to the population, so this sensitive issue was settled in a national referendum.
It turns out that the majority of Swiss citizens want to change regulations and join a group of 13 European countries where it is forbidden to cover the face in whole or in part. It should be noted that this ban (known as anti-burqa) was previously in effect in the cantons of Ticino (since 2013 and St. Gallen (since 2018).
According to the Palestinian People’s Assembly, the Central Islamic Council and Amnesty International expressed their dissatisfaction with the outcome of the vote. The council said, “It is a dark day for our society. Today’s decision opens old wounds, broadens the principle of legal inequality and sends a clear signal of exclusion for the Muslim minority.”
In turn, Amnesty International has assessed that the new ban is another anti-Muslim initiative after the 2009 ban on building minarets, which was also set up by a group linked to the right-wing Swiss People’s Party.
