The Swiss government has urged voters to oppose the proposed ban on some Muslim women covering their entire faces.
Swiss citizens will vote in a national referendum on March 7th on the proposal to ban the burqa and niqab in public places.
However, the federal council and the state’s parliament recommended rejecting the initiative, as the ban would severely affect the country’s tourism industry.
The government said on Tuesday that “face covering is a marginal phenomenon in Switzerland”.
“The ban at national level affects the rights of the cantons, harms tourism and does not help the women affected.”
The government proposed a countermeasure that would force citizens to remove authorities’ face covers for identification purposes in official offices or on public transport. Anyone who refuses to reveal their face will be punished with a fine.
The attempt to ban full face veils was supported by members of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, who also campaigned for a ban on minarets, which Switzerland passed in 2009.
The proposals call for the niqab to be banned on the street or in restaurants, except in places of worship or while wearing the veil for reasons of health and safety or “local customs”.
However, the Swiss government declared the new initiative to be “unnecessary” as those who wear the headscarf in Switzerland are mainly tourists who are only temporarily in the country.
The government added in a. “It is also not expected that the nationwide headscarf ban will improve the security situation.” Explanation“Furthermore, the ban on the veil does not strengthen the position of veiled women.”
“Integration problems can be fixed with existing tools [and] Banning clothes is the wrong way to go. “
The Swiss cantons of St. Gallen and Ticino have already banned full coverage of regional elections, while France and Denmark have also passed laws specifying efforts to uphold secular values and prevent discrimination against women.
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