The move to ban the burqa started in September 2022, when Switzerland’s lower house of Parliament voted decisively, with 151 members in favor and 29 opposed, to pass the relevant legislation. This was followed by the 2021 referendum, where Swiss voters narrowly approved the ban, targeting not only religious face coverings like niqabs and burqas but also ski masks and bandannas often worn by protesters.
The ban was pushed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, while centrists and the Greens expressed strong reservations.
Switzerland’s national legislation follows similar restrictions already enforced in two of its cantons, Ticino and St. Gallen. Belgium and France have also implemented comparable bans, drawing international criticism and sparking debates over religious freedom and cultural integration.
In September 2023, Iran’s parliament passed a new “hijab and chastity” bill that increases the penalties for violating the country’s dress code.
The bill also equates appearing in public without a hijab with harm to society, and deems it equivalent to “nudity”.
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