Reuters AW / ZWO / FW1 / Devika Syamnath
A proposal to ban face-coverings in Switzerland won by the far-right by a slight majority in a binding referendum on Sunday.
The provisional official results showed approval of the proposal, under which the Swiss constitution will be amended, by 51.2 percent, compared to 48.8 percent of voters rejecting it.
The proposal did not explicitly mention Islam, and it also aimed to prevent participants in violent street protests from wearing masks.
However, local politicians and media describe the referendum as a referendum to ban the niqab and burqa.
“In Switzerland, our culture is to show your face. This is an indication of our fundamental freedoms,” Walter Wubmann, chairman of the referendum committee and a member of parliament for the Swiss People’s Party, said before the vote.
He described covering the face as “a symbol of this extremism, political Islam that has become increasingly prominent in Europe and which has no place in Switzerland.”
“The text of the dress code in the constitution is not a struggle for women’s liberation but a step back,” the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Switzerland said, adding that the Swiss values of neutrality, tolerance and peace were severely damaged in the discussions.
France banned the wearing of full face coverings in 2011, and there is a complete or partial ban on face coverings in Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and Bulgaria.
Source: “Reuters”
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