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%. »

Dutch 'Burqa Ban' Rendered Largely Unworkable on First Day

THE GUARDIAN: Police and transport companies have signalled unwillingness to enforce face covering ban

The Netherlands’ “burqa ban” has been rendered largely unworkable on its first day in law after both the police and Dutch transport companies signalled an unwillingness to enforce it.

Under the terms of the Partial Ban on Face-Covering Clothing Act the wearing of ski masks, full-face helmets, balaclavas, niqabs and burqas is prohibited in public buildings, including schools and hospitals, and on public transport.

Wearers of the banned clothing are to be given the option to remove the offending item or face a police fine of between €150 and €415. There is no prohibition on wearing such garments in the street.

But the law appears to have been fatally undermined after police said its enforcement was not a priority and signalled their discomfort with the idea that veiled women could be put off from entering a police station to make unrelated complaints. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Thursday, August 1, 2019

Was France Right to Ban the Burqa? (2010)

The Burqa Battle (2010): Sarkozy's ban on burqa's has stirred up a lot of controversy in France, but what do Muslims actually think of it?

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.

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.

Limited Burka Ban Approved by German Parliament

THE TELEGRAPH: Germany’s parliament has voted to approve a partial burka ban for judges, civil servants and soldiers carrying out their duties.

Under the ban, officials will also be able to require women wearing a burka or full-face veil to uncover their faces for the purposes of identification.

The new law falls short of calls from the Right in Germany for a French-style blanket ban on the burka in public places.

It also stops short of Angela Merkel’s call for a ban “wherever legally possible”.

The new legislation is mainly directed at public officials, and does not affect the right of private individuals to wear the burka in public. Read on and comment » | Justin Huggler in Berlin | Friday, April 28, 2017

Burqa & Sharia Court Ban: UKIP Unveils New Agenda ahead of Snap Elections (Debate)

UKIP is calling for new measures ‘Islamization of the country’ ahead of June’s snap general election. UKIP also wants to put a ban on Burqas as well as Sharia Laws.

Calling for Burqa Ban

I am saying the reasons why every country should ban the Burqa or the face covering. I only talked about the Burqa not any other dress worn for religious reasons.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Calls for Burqa Ban

Angela Merkel: Burqa Has No Place in Germany

German chancellor Angela Merkel tells delegates at the Christian Democratic Union’s conference in Essen on Tuesday that a ‘full facial veil is inappropriate’ and should be banned. It is the first time she has endorsed her party’s call for a partial ban on burqa and niqab

Read the Guardian article here

Angela Merkel Calls for a Burqa Ban

Germany to Ban Wearing Face Veils in Public Places - Interior Minister

The German interior minister has advocated a partial burqa ban amid a debate on the integration of Muslim refugees. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that a completely covered woman has almost no chance of integrating herself into German society.

‪Burqa Ban: Law Comes into Force in Switzerland (Debate)‬

A ban on wearing burqas in public places has come into force in certain parts of Switzerland today. And the first people to break the law have already been fined. Two prominent campaigners for Muslim rights walked through the city of Locarno in full Islamic dress, and were immediately confronted by police. To discuss this we're now joined by Graham Moore, from the English Democrats and Dilly Hussain, Deputy editor of British Muslim news site @5pillars UK.

Nigel Farage Destroys Sadiq Khan - Ban the Burqa in Britain

Italy's Lombardy Bans Burqas After Terror Attacks

THE TELEGRAPH: Northeastern region of Lombardy has amended legislation in order to outlaw the burqa and niqab from public offices and hospitals

Lombardy, the most populous and wealthiest region in Italy, has approved a ban on wearing the Islamic veil and burqa in hospitals and local government offices in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in Europe.

Current law across Italy already prohibits helmets, clothing or any other items that make identification difficult in public places without a justifiable motive.

But the new legislation in Lombardy, which comes into force on January 1, 2016, marks the first time an Italian region has explicitly outlawed Islamic face coverings.

Simona Bordonali, head of security, civil protection and immigration in Lombardy, said “serious terror attacks” in recent weeks had forced the region to reinforce its security measures. » | Alice Philipson, Rome | Friday, December 11, 2015

Refugee-welcoming Germany Could Soon Ban the Burqa as It ‘Doesn’t Fit’ Society

EXPRESS: Lawmakers in Germany's biggest state Bavaria want a new law making the wearing of the burqa illegal in the whole of the country.

The conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), which is the sister party in the state to the ruling CDU of Chancellor Angela Merkel, is pressing Berlin to support the measure.

Ilse Aigner, finance minister in Bavaria, said: “The law on a burqa ban should be quickly passed by the government.

“It is first and foremost about showing one’s face. It’s about living together as a society and seeing one another. It doesn’t fit to our society to hide oneself, and it contradicts our idea of sexual equality.” » | Allan Hall | Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Switzerland Overwhelmingly Votes for Burqa Ban with £6,500 Fine for Muslim Women Who Rebel

EXPRESS: WOMEN wearing a burqa in Switzerland will now be fined a whopping £6,500 after an overwhelming number voted to bring in ban.

Muslim women can no longer wear the full-body garment in shops, restaurants or public buildings and anyone caught flouting the ban could be struck with a £6,500 fine.

The local government of Ticino approved the referendum after the Swiss Parliament ruled that the ban did not violate the country's federal law.

Two in three voters in the canton backed the move in an overwhelming result for a referendum, in the wake of heightened terrorist alerts across Europe.

The law which MPs voted for only applies to veils which covers the body from head to foot worn by the 40,000 Muslim women in Switzerland and also applies to all tourists visiting the area.

Other face coverings such as masks, balaclavas or crash helmets are still permitted. » | Oli Smith | Friday, November 27, 2015

Unveiling France's Burqa Ban

Burqa Battle (2010): In the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo killings, secular France has been forced to examine its relationship with the country's Islamic minority. This 2010 report looks at tensions surrounding the controversial Islamic garment.

China Bans Burqa in Capital of Muslim Region of Xinjiang

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Authorities in Urumqi ban women from wearing the burqa in the wake of a series of deadly clashes and attacks in China's far west

The capital of China's most Muslim region has banned residents from wearing the burqa in "an effort to curb growing extremism".

Women in Urumqi, a city of 3.1 million people in the far western region of Xinjiang, will no longer be allowed to wear the garment, state media announced this week.

"Burqas are not traditional dress for Uighur women, and wearing them in public places is banned in countries such as Belgium and France," Xinhua, China's official news agency, wrote in a brief article about the ban.

Xinjiang is home to the Uighurs, a largely Muslim, Turkic-speaking group as well as a growing number of Han Chinese migrants who have poured into the region which borders Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan. » | Tom Phillips, Shanghai | Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Paris Opera Cast Refuse to Perform for Veiled Woman

La Traviate at the Opéra Bastille

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A woman wearing a full-face veil is told to leave a performance of La Traviata at the Opéra Bastille after the production refuse to go on stage

A woman wearing an full-face Islamic veil was told to leave a Paris opera house after members of the cast refused to perform if she remained in the audience, officials said.

The woman, described as “a tourist from a Gulf state”, was sitting on the front row during a performance of La Traviata at the Opéra Bastille, the deputy director, Jean-Philippe Thiellay, said.

France banned the wearing of the full-face veil, or niqab, in public in 2011. The ban was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights earlier this year.

Mr Thiellay said performers told him during the second act that they would only continue if the woman left. During the interval, an attendant told her that she could stay if she removed her veil.

"He told her that in France there is a ban of this nature, asked her to either uncover her face or leave the room,” Mr Thiellay said. “The man asked the woman to get up, they left." » | David Chazan, Paris | Monday, October 20, 2014