Swiss ‘burqa ban’ to take effect from 2025

Published November 7, 2024 Updated November 7, 2024 04:05pm
A Muslim woman wearing a niqab attends a protest against islamophobia and racism organised by the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS), in Bern October 29, 2011. — Reuters/File
A Muslim woman wearing a niqab attends a protest against islamophobia and racism organised by the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS), in Bern October 29, 2011. — Reuters/File

A contentious Swiss prohibition on facial coverings in public spaces widely known as the “burqa ban” will take effect on Jan. 1, the government said on Wednesday.

Narrowly passed in a 2021 referendum in neutral Switzerland, and condemned by Muslim associations, the measure was launched by the same group that organised a 2009 ban on new minarets.

The governing Federal Council said in a statement it had fixed the start of the ban, and that anyone who unlawfully flouts it faces a fine of up to 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,144).

The ban does not apply to planes or diplomatic and consular premises, and faces may also be covered in places of worship and other sacred sites, the government said.

Facial coverings will remain permitted for reasons relating to health and safety, for native customs, or due to weather conditions, it said.

They would also be allowed on artistic and entertainment grounds and for advertising, it added.

If such coverings are needed for personal protection in exercising freedom of expression and assembly, they should be permitted provided the responsible authority has already approved them and public order is not compromised, it said.

($1 = 0.8745 Swiss francs)

Opinion

Editorial

Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...
Rushed legislation
Updated 06 Nov, 2024

Rushed legislation

For all its stress on "supremacy of parliament", the ruling coalition has wasted no opportunity to reiterate where its allegiances truly lie.
Jail reform policy
06 Nov, 2024

Jail reform policy

THE state is making a fresh attempt to improve conditions in Pakistan’s penitentiaries by developing a national...
BISP overhaul
06 Nov, 2024

BISP overhaul

IT has emerged that the spouses of over 28,500 Sindh government employees have been illicitly benefiting from BISP....