Switzerland will hold a vote today on the issue of “face covering”, if the bill can be passed, in the future, unless for holiday celebrations or health reasons, people in public places must be forced to “face”.
According to foreign media reports, the bill will bear the brunt of the niqabs and burqas that Islamic women will wear, in addition to ski masks or protesters’ headscarves are also expected to be affected.
The bill is backed by the Swiss People’s Party, the largest party in parliament, which in 2009 helped pass a law banning the construction of minarets. A minaret is a tall tower that stands around a mosque.
Walter Wobmann, a Swiss People’s Party member of parliament and chairman of the Swiss referendum committee, said before the vote that “the Swiss tradition is to show your face, and this is a sign of our right to show our fundamental freedoms.”
Wobmann also described the move to cover the face as “a symbol of extreme political Islamization,” saying, “It is getting a bad reputation in Europe and Switzerland will not allow this.”
The Swiss government is on the opposing side of the bill, with some in government arguing that it would significantly affect the country’s tourism revenues. Because tourists from wealthy Arab countries in the Middle East make up a significant proportion of Switzerland’s tourism industry, a relatively pragmatic approach would be to “show up when needed.
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