Swiss Ban on Face Covering Will Apply from 2025

SWISSINFO.COM: From January 1, 2025, it will be forbidden to cover the face in public places throughout Switzerland. Violations can be punished with a fine of up to CHF1,000 (about $1,143).

On Wednesday, the Swiss government decided to put the new provision to effect from 2025. The controversial “anti-burka” initiative was approved by 51.2% of Swiss voters in March 2021.

The new constitutional article will be implemented in the Federal Act on the Prohibition of Covering the Face. Violations will be dealt with through the administrative fine procedure to minimise bureaucracy. The administrative fine to be paid will be CHF100 and can be paid directly on site. However, those who refused to pay the administrative fine will be subject to the ordinary procedure which carries a maximum penalty of CHF1,000. » | SWI swissinfo.ch/ac | Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Swiss ‘burka ban’ accepted by slim majority: Supporters of a people’s initiative to ban face coverings in public have carried the vote with a majority of 51.2%. »

Taliban Chief Orders All Afghan Women to Wear the Burqa in Public • France 24 English

May 7, 2022 • The Taliban on Saturday imposed one of the harshest restrictions on Afghanistan's women since seizing power, ordering them to wear the all-covering burqa in public.

Verwandt.

«Die Burka ist unser geringstes Problem»

TAGES ANZEIGER: Nach der Machtübernahme der Taliban dürften die Frauenrechte in Afghanistan wieder verschwinden. Eine Politikerin spricht von einem Angriff, der sich kaum weniger schlimm anfühle, als der Weltuntergang.

Die Burka als Protest: Eine Frau in Brüssel protestiert vollkommen verhüllt gegen die Machtübernahme der Taliban in Afghanistan. Foto: Stéphanie Lecocq (Keystone/18. August 2021) | Oben ein Screenshot vom Tages Anzeiger.
Afghanische Frauen und die Taliban
Marina Haidari holen Kindheitserinnerungen ein. Eine davon stammt etwa aus dem Jahr 1997, als die Taliban erstmals in Afghanistan an der Macht waren. Damals beschallten sie ständig die Strassen mit furchteinflössenden Liedern aus Lautsprechern, die an ihren Trucks angebracht waren.

Kaum waren die Hymnen zu hören, verzogen sich alle in Windeseile in ihre Häuser und Wohnungen. Nur einmal war Marina schon fast beim Basar. Aus dem Nichts fuhr sie ein Taliban an und schlug ihr mit einer Peitsche auf die Wange. Ihr Vergehen? Sie trug keine Burka. Sie war noch keine 13 Jahre alt.

Heute ist Marina fast 37 Jahre alt. Sie müsse den Kopf schütteln, erzählt sie am Telefon, als mehrere ihrer jüngeren weiblichen Verwandten in ihrem Schlafzimmer erstmals eine Burka anprobieren. Die Taliban sind wieder in der Stadt, seit weniger als einer Woche, und die jungen Mädchen probieren dieses blaue, schwere Ungetüm von Verschleierungsstück aus diesem gerillten, plastikähnlichen Stoff. Erstmals blicken sie durch das vergitterte Sichtfeld. » | SDA/fal | Donnersttag, 19. August 2021

Ian McEwan on the Burka and Freedom of Speech – BBC Newsnight

Author of the Children Act Ian McEwan gives his take on religious freedom v freedom of speech.

Should Boris Johnson Apologise over His Burka Comments? | Julia Hartley-Brewer

After Boris Johnson's ‘Telegraph’ article Theresa May and other Conservative party members have asked him to apologise for his comments. Julia takes an in depth look at whether he should apologise with the help of Nadine Dorries, Ajmal Masoor, Stanley Johnson and more.

Boris Johnson's Burka Jibe: Discussion – BBC Newsnight

Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has been accused of Islamophobia after writing in his Telegraph column that Muslim women wearing burkas "look like letter boxes".

Evan Davis is joined by Mohammed Amin, Chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum, and Jack Blanchard, Editor of Politico London Playbook to discuss Mr Johnson's controversial comments.

Should the Burka Be Banned? | Julia Hartley-Brewer

After Boris Johnson's comments on the burka ban in Denmark Julia asks whether it should be banned in the UK. Julia is joined by Kulveer Ranger and Omer El-Hamdoon.

British Police Force Says It May Allow Female Officers to Wear Burkas As Part Of Uniform

THE TELEGRAPH: A British police force has said it may allow Muslim officers to wear burkas in an attempt to boost diversity in its force.

West Midlands Police said they have “no barriers” relating to the burka - which covers the face as well as the body - as they announced that they would discuss allowing the traditional Islamic dress to become part of a policewoman’s uniform.

Chief Constable David Thompson said he would look into employing officers who wear the burka if the issue arose, as the force tries to increase the percentage of black and minority ethnic (BME) officers in the region to 30 per cent. It is believed that West Midlands Police are the first force to consider allowing the burka. » | Sam Dean | Friday, September 9, 2016

Pat Condell: Ban the Burka

Votation cantonale: Le Tessin s'achemine vers une interdiction de la burka

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Selon une projection de la Radio-télévision suisse italienne (RSI), tant l'initiative que le contre-projet réclamant l'interdiction de la burka seraient acceptés dimanche à près de deux contre un

Le Tessin sera selon toute vraisemblance le premier canton suisse à interdire le port du voile dans les lieux publics.

Dans une question subsidiaire, les citoyens tessinois semblent opter plutôt pour l'initiative. Celle-ci impliquerait un changement de constitution. [Source: Tribune de Genève] | ats/Newsnet | dimanche 22 septembre 2013

Burkas Cast a Veil over Us All – So Ban Them

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cultural values that oppress and diminish women have no place in our society

Am I a racist? That’s what I was called on Twitter this week. It happens every time I express my loathing for the burka and the niqab, both hideous shrouds that hide a woman’s face from the world and prevent her – and, therefore, her children – from playing a full part in society.

My accuser on Twitter, one Imran Bhaloo, said it was offensive and racist of me to call a burka a shroud. “You have no right to evaluate culture,” he said. “A burka is not better or worse than a short dress, especially when you’re wearing it to impress someone. At that point, it ceases to be a choice. So how free are you?”

Actually, Mr Bhaloo, I do have a right to “evaluate culture”, as you call it. Mercifully, this is a country in which critical thinking is permitted: if we believe a practice stinks, then we say so. For example, if the Daughter comes downstairs wearing a skirt shorter than a text message, I culturally evaluate it and tell her to get changed pronto.

You ask me how free am I? Well, I’m a lot freer than those poor girls, as young as 11, who attend the Madani Girls’ School in east London. The school, it was revealed yesterday, requires all pupils to wear a burka, or a full-face veil and a long black coat, outside the premises. According to the school’s website, the uniform rule “conforms to the Islamic Code of dressing and must be adhered to at all times”.

How free is an 11-year-old who only sees her city through a letterbox slit, and who is obliged to dress in a way that intimidates people, prevents any connection being made, and ends up stoking even more racist feeling? How free are the children at the Ayesha Siddiqa Girls’ School in west London, which, like other private Islamic schools, requires pupils to wear a burka or jilbab (headscarf)? The Ayesha Siddiqa school had an emergency Ofsted inspection earlier this year that raised concerns about the 120 girls’ “welfare, health and safety”. » | Allison Pearson | Wednesday, September 18, 2013

My comment:

Finally, Brits are coming to the conclusion that the Islamic veil / burqah / niqab / hijab should be banned. It's taken a long time. Many of us have been saying this for years; but we were shouted down by the thought police (and the MSM) for being too intolerant and un-pc. Interestingly, Brits had a go at the French too, for being intolerant of diversity when they banned the burqah. But now, it seems, they have been proved right. They were, of course, right all along.

The burqah has no place in a progressive society. Ban it! – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

Burka Ban Proposal Thrown Out by Parliament

SWISSINFO.CH: The House of Representatives has voted against banning burkas worn by Muslim women from public spaces in Switzerland, sounding the death knell for an initiative put forward by the canton of Aargau several years ago.

Following a March Senate vote with the same result, the house decided by 93 votes to 87 that the initiative would not go through.

Speaking for the majority, centre-right Radical Party parliamentarian Hugues Hiltpold said banning the burka would be excessive and would encourage tourists from Muslim countries to have negative opinions of the country.

“Today in Switzerland, wearing this type of clothing for religious reasons doesn’t pose any problems in daily life and is a rare practice in the Swiss Muslim community,” Hiltpold added.

“Banning the niqab or the burka in Switzerland would have adverse consequences for Swiss Muslims.” » | swissinfo.ch and agencies | Friday, September 28, 2012

MUSLIMS IN SWITZERLAND: The Muslim community in Switzerland accounts for about 4.5 per cent of the population.

Most Muslim immigrants came from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey. The community includes up to 100 nationalities.

The number of Muslims doubled between the censuses of 1990 and 2000, largely boosted by an influx of refugees and asylum seekers, including from the war in the former Yugoslavia.

There are about 200 mosques and prayer houses in Switzerland, but only four have a minaret. On November 29, 2009, 57 per cent of voters supported a people’s initiative to ban the construction of new minarets in Switzerland. This was in the wake of heated debates and legal battles at a local level about requests by mosques to build more minarets. [Source: swissinfo.ch]

Netherlands to Ban Burka, Says Anti-Islam MP
THE TELEGRAPH: The Netherlands will ban the burka under measures agreed in a pact to form a minority coalition government, according to Geert Wilders, the anti-Islam MP whose party is part of the deal.

In addition to the measures agreed by the three parties, the number of immigrants who enter The Netherlands will be halved, Mr Wilders said as the agreement was announced.

"We want the Islamisation to be stopped," Mr Wilders, who will go on trial in Amsterdam next Monday for inciting hatred against Muslims, said.

Mr Wilders – who campaigns for a ban on Muslim immigration and wants to end the building of new mosques and tax Muslim head scarves – had a say in the plan's immigration policies in return for supporting its austerity measures. >>> | Thursday, September 30, 2010

Australian Court Orders Muslim Witness to Testify Without Burka
THE TELEGRAPH: An Australian court has ruled that a Muslim woman must remove her burka while she gives evidence so that the jury can assess her facial expressions.

Judge Shauna Deane of the Perth District Court said that it was "inappropriate" for the woman, only identified as Tasneem, to have her face covered while testifying in the A$752,000 (£433,000) fraud trial.

Lawyers for Tasneem, 36, had asked the judge to allow her to give evidence while wearing the burka because she had not removed the veil in public as an adult and would find the experience highly stressful.

The full Islamic veil covers the whole body except the eyes and hands.

Mark Ritter, prosecuting, told the court that Tasneem, who emigrated to Australia seven years ago, had worn the garment since she was 17.

He said she wanted to give evidence but would feel uncomfortable without the burka and that could prejudice the way she presented her evidence.

"It goes beyond stress, it would have a negative impact," he said.

However, the defence raised concerns about how the jury could assess her credibility if they could not see her face. They argued that wearing the garment was a cultural, not a religious, choice and that even in Islamic courts women were required to remove the veil. >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Thursday, August 19, 2010

Burqa Decision Ripples Across World
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: IT WAS just one decision made by one judge in one case in Perth and Judge Shauna Deane was at pains to make that clear.

But the impact of her decision yesterday to order a Muslim woman to remove her burqa in Western Australia's District Court is unlikely to remain so localised.

A prosecution witness known only as Tasneem, 36, has kept her surname a secret but will have to show her face in the fraud trial of a former Muslim school director called Anwar Sayed.

Mr Sayed's defence team - to their client's apparent dismay - had argued the jury should be able to see her facial expressions.
Tasneem had a ''right to religious expression'', Judge Deane found, but she had to be fair to everyone involved in the trial.

The decision was reported around the world and will be popular in Western Australia, with about 80 per cent of 3000 recent respondents to the watoday.com.au and 6PR radio websites believing the witness should be made to remove her burqa. >>> Joel Gibson | Friday, August 20, 2010

Judge Bans Burqa From Perth Court
WA TODAY: The Muslim woman who wished to testify while wearing a full-face veil says she accepts the decision by a Perth District Court judge to ban the niqab.

The 36-year old woman, known only as Tasneem, is a witness in a case against Anwar Sayed.

Mr Sayed is accused of fraudulently stealing up to $750,000 in public funds by artificially inflating student numbers at his school, the Muslim Ladies College in Perth's southern suburbs.

Today, judge Shauna Deane said that in the interest of a fair trial the witness should not be allowed to wear a niqab, commonly known as a burqa.

But she said she would speak to counsel about ways to accommodate Tasneem's desire to maintain her modesty in line with how she practices her faith.

Tasneem issued a written statement following the decision, which said: "I accept her decision and thank her for her careful consideration of this matter.

"I appreciate my request to wear my niqab in court has stirred much public debate, however, I would emphasise that this was not a demand, I merely asked to dress as I normally would in front of people I do not know."

She said she was not trying to make a religious statement.

"This is my personal choice and rather than oppressing me, it liberates me," Tasneem said.

"Like many Australians I believe in God and for me wearing the niqab serves as a constant reminder that I am accountable for my actions.

"I respect that other women who share my religion do not share this particular belief and that interpretations surrounding Islamic dress standards do differ.

"Therefore I understand this can be confusing for non-Muslims as they witness varying degrees of cover and I accept the full cover I choose to wear can be confronting to some." (+ video) >>> Aja Styles | Thursday, August 19, 2010

Richard Dawkins Sparks Outcry After Likening the Burka to a Bin Liner
THE TELEGRAPH: Richard Dawkins, the outspoken atheist, has courted fresh controversy by likening the burka to a bin liner.

The 69-year-old author and Oxford academic said he is filled with “visceral revulsion” when he sees women wearing the traditional Islamic covering.

But he held back from advocating a ban on the all-enveloping cloak, insisting that such legislation would fly in the face of Britain’s liberal tradition.

Professor Dawkins referred to the burka as a “full bin-liner thing” in an interview with the Radio Times in which he discussed his forthcoming documentary on the dangers of faith schools.

He has sparked fury among Muslim groups, who have accused him of being “ignorant” and “Islamophobic”.

But he stood by his remarks last night, telling the Daily Mail: “I do feel visceral revulsion at the burka because for me it is a symbol of the oppression of women.” >>> Heidi Blake | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Baroness Warsi Is Just Plain WRONG!
MAIL ONLINE: Wearing a burka does not prevent Muslim women ‘engaging in everyday life’ in Britain, the Conservative Party chairman Sayeeda Warsi claimed today.

In comments that will reignite the row about the full face veil, Baroness Warsi defended the right of Muslim women to ‘choose’ to wear the burka.

Backbench Tory MPs have launched a bid to ban the wearing of the burka in public.

Critics claim the burka is a symbol of oppression, with some Muslim women ordered to wear the full face veil by their husbands.

But Lady Warsi, the first Muslim woman to serve in the Cabinet, yesterday launched a passionate defence of the burka. She suggested that many Muslim women choose to wear the veil of their own free will.

Lady Warsi, who was named last year as Britain’s most powerful Muslim woman, said: ‘Just because a woman wears the burka, it doesn’t mean she can’t engage in everyday life.

‘Why should we tell women what to wear? What it boils down to is choice. If women don’t have a choice over what to wear then they are oppressed.

‘But if a woman has a choice, and she chooses to wear whatever she chooses to wear then she’s not oppressed is she? She’s choosing what she wants.’

Critics claim that the burka alienates Muslim women from the rest of society. But Lady Warsi said the burka did not act as a barrier in itself.

She added: ‘There are women who wear the burka who run extremely successful businesses – internet businesses, which don’t actually require you to be there face to face.’

Lady Warsi’s intervention is the latest bid by the coalition Government to close down debate about the burka. Tory party chairman says Muslim women SHOULD be allowed to wear the Burka >>> Jason Groves | Monday, August 02, 2010

Israeli Rabbis Clamp Down On Burka
THE TELEGRAPH: Israeli rabbis are to clamp down on the growing number of devout Jewish women wearing the burka by declaring the garment an item of sexual deviancy.

The move was prompted by the husbands of some burka-wearing women. Photo: The Telegraph
At the insistence of the husbands of some burka-wearing women, a leading rabbinical authority is to issue an edict declaring burka wearing a sexual fetish that is as promiscuous as wearing too little.

A small group of ultra-orthodox Jews in the town of Beit Shemesh chose to don the burka, usually associated with women in repressive Islamist regimes, three years ago in a bid to protect their modesty.

Since then, the habit has spread to five other Israeli towns causing alarm among ultra-orthodox religious leaders who once saw it as a relatively harmless eccentricity – even though the number of Jewish burka wearers is not thought to be more than a few hundred.

“There is a real danger that by exaggerating, you are doing the opposite of what is intended [resulting in] severe transgressions in sexual matters,” Shlomo Pappenheim, a member of the rabbinical authority preparing to make the edict, was quoted as saying. >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Friday, July 30, 2010

Jeremy Clarkson Outrages Viewers by Announcing on Top Gear He'd Seen Saucy Underwear Beneath Muslim Woman's Burka
MAIL ONLINE: Jeremy Clarkson has joined the debate on whether burkas should be permitted in Britain in his own inimitable style.

The outspoken presenter provoked a flurry of complaints after telling viewers of Top Gear on Sunday night that he had seen a Muslim woman wearing saucy underwear beneath her gown.

Clarkson had been discussing the best way to stop drivers being distracted by female pedestrians, along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May.

More than six million viewers had tuned in to watch the show, which featured guest appearances from Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.

In front of the studio audience, he said: 'This is an important bit of news, I really want to bring this up. People imagine that the most dangerous time of the year to drive is November or perhaps February - dark nights, fog, ice.

'But we were talking about this the other day and we think the most dangerous time to drive a car is round about now. Sunny skies, light breezes, girls wearing short skirts, because the thing is, you can't not look. You can't physically not look.'

Hammond interjected, saying: 'You can physically not use your mobile phone and it's easy not to drive home when you've had 18 pints of lager. But when you're driving along and a girl walks past, you have to look. Actually, do you not think that here, there is actually a case for the burka? Because then the problem would go away.'

Clarkson then replied: 'No, no, no. Honestly, the burka doesn't work. I was in a cab in Piccadilly the other day when a woman in a full burka crossing the road in front of me tripped over the pavement, went head over heels and up it came, red g-string and stockings. I promise that happened. The taxi driver will back me up on that.'

Despite disbelief from his co-stars, Clarkson again insisted the incident took place.

By yesterday morning, seven viewers had already contacted the BBC to complain, while singer Lily Allen labelled the comment 'distasteful' on her Twitter site.

Another viewer wrote: 'Clarkson is too old for mini skirt jokes - burka story obscene - horrid.' >>> Simon Cable and Paul Revoir | Tuesday, July 27, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Jeremy Clarkson joins burka debate: Jeremy Clarkson has provoked a flurry of complaints after telling Top Gear viewers he saw a woman wearing a G-string and stockings beneath her burka. >>> Ben Leach | Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The Burka Empowering Women? You Must Be Mad, Minister
MAIL ONLINE: These British apologists for the burka make me see red, whatever side of the political spectrum they come from.

They can be Left-wingers who'll countenance no criticism, however valid, of hardline Muslims. They can be Right-wing libertarians who insist any woman has the right to wear whatever she chooses.

And, as we discovered this week, they can be members of the British Cabinet who ludicrously claim the burka actually empowers women.

Yes, Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, really did claim that the burka delivers its wearer blissful freedom. As a Muslim, you might expect me to agree with her, but I can't. She is wrong. Her fatuous and ill-conceived defence of the burka rendered me apoplectic with fury.

Does she even understand the harm she does by sanctioning this perversion of our faith?

Immigrant Muslims who came to Britain to get away from Stalinist ayatollahs, mullahs and women-hating fanatic regimes in their home countries must be spitting their teeth out after hearing Spelman's astounding endorsement of this dreadful garment.

We Muslims who came here wanted the freedom that Britain's proud history of democracy was renowned for. We wanted better education for our children and to live and pray in peace in a country which, for all its faults, gives us civil rights and equality between the sexes.

Yet Spelman's support for the burka suddenly puts all of our expectations under threat; for the most obvious manifestation of the oppressive Islam we left behind is welcomed here with the blessing of the ruling elite.

I'd like to invite Mrs Spelman to prove she believes what she says by wearing the black sheet and mask - surely she should do that as an act of solidarity with the 'empowered' Muslim sisters she admires so much.

And if she chooses not to, if she feels she would find wearing a burka limiting and suffocating, why on earth is she breezily recommending it as a garment for other women?

Would she honestly be so upbeat about the burka if a daughter of hers hid herself away inside its veil, or if her son brought home a totally veiled bride-to-be? I don't think so. She and the rest of the 'liberal-minded' burka brigade can only afford to be generous because the burka does not - and never will - affect their own lives, nor test their powers of endurance. To check out the shrouded sisters who tell me they feel ' beautifully' liberated under a veil, I tried wearing a burka for a day - and threw it off in a couple of hours, wheezing asthmatically.

I felt wiped out, a nobody - lifeless and voiceless. A Pakistani shopkeeper said I made him nervous because he couldn't see my face. I saw others shrinking away from me - and I could understand their reactions. So, will the defenders of the burka brand me and the shopkeeper racist? I wouldn't put it past them.

In truth, I am a life-long anti-racist and die-hard defender of Muslims - yet one who abhors veils as do countless other Muslims.

It is a view that has provoked fury and warnings from veiled women, who self-righteously tell me that uncovered Muslim females will end up in hell unless they repent. Women like me, they warn, are 'western whores' who should be thrown on the eternal fire, along with our mothers.

Of course, many veiled Muslim women argue that, far from being forced to wear burkas by ruthless husbands, they do so out of choice. And I have to take them at their word. But it is also very apparent that many women are forced behind the veil. Continue reading and comment >>> Yasmin Alibhai-Brown | Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Uproar After Minister Says: Let Women Wear a Burkha
DAILY EXPRESS: A CABINET minister provoked outrage last night by suggesting wearing a burkha could be “empowering” for some Muslim women.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman claimed that a full-face veil was seen as “conferring dignity” in some Islamic societies, such as Afghanistan.

And she vowed to oppose calls for Britain to follow France in outlawing burkhas in public.

She said: “We are a free country, we attach importance to people being free and for a woman it is empowering to be able to choose each morning when you wake up what you wear.”

But her remarks sparked an angry reaction from ­critics last night.

UK Independence Party Euro MP Nigel Farage, whose party is pressing for the ­burkha and other face ­coverings to be outlawed, said: “It is astonishing that a member of the Government in the 21st century can say that women covering their faces empowers them.

“It does not. It disadvantages them in every walk of life. Her comments are ignorant and ill-founded.” Mrs Spelman spoke out ­yesterday after the Government ruled out banning the burkha, the niqab and other face veils. >>> Macer Hall, Political Editor | Monday, July 19, 2010

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