Six women have been fined since a so-called burka ban went into effect in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino last summer.
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Ticino’s security authorities released the figures on Monday, noting that in another ten instances, the police had merely issued warnings. Many cases involved foreign visitors who were unaware of the law and who readily removed their veils.
The ban prohibits people from wearing clothing that covers the face in public. In 2013, local voters accepted an initiative calling for a ban on such clothing, typically worn by Muslim women. On the first day of the ban, a Swiss woman who had converted to Islam staged a protest in Locarno. Wearing a blue niqab – which covers everything but the eyes – she was the first person to be fined.
Last September, the Swiss House of Representative passed a parliamentary initiative that would ban the wearing of burkas throughout Switzerland. However, a Senate committee rejected the initiative in January, so it is unlikely to pass in that chamber of parliament. The Senate committee concluded that hardly anybody in Switzerland covers her face for religious reasons.
Meanwhile, a people’s initiative on the subject is currently underway. Its supporters have until this September to gather the 100,000 signatures necessary to force a nationwide vote on banning burkas. A survey conducted by two Swiss newspapers last year indicated that 71% of the Swiss population would support such a ban.
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Swiss strongly favour burka ban: newspapers
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An overwhelming 71% of the Swiss population would support a nationwide burka ban, according to a new survey published on Sunday.
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Several European countries have banned in public places the wearing of veils or any kind of clothing that hides the face. Now supporters of a people’s initiative want to do the same throughout Switzerland. Two parliamentarians debate the issue.
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On Tuesday, the Strasbourg-based court ruled that the fine imposed by the authorities of canton Basel City did not violate the girls’ freedom of conscience and religion. However, the parents have three months to request a re-examination of the case, something that the court is not obliged to grant them In 2010, the parents – Swiss…
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A people’s initiative has been handed in for a Switzerland-wide ban on the wearing of veils or any kind of clothing that hides the face. The committee that launched the initiative – mostly rightwing politicians and activists – says Switzerland is threatened by “Islamisation” and that people who hide their faces pose a security risk.…
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The centre, which is part of the University of Fribourg’s theology faculty, is meant to promote dialogue among societal groups and contribute to debates surrounding Islam. The university’s rector Astrid Epiney told the public on Monday that her institution is proud to host the new cultural centre. “Only a society where we can live together…
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Their comments come six months after the ban on the construction of minarets was voted in by 57.5 per cent of the electorate. “The minaret initiative was the first in the history of Swiss democracy to be discussed more after the vote than before,” says parliamentarian Andreas Gross in his introduction to the new book…
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Cities around Switzerland have reacted differently. While Lausanne, Montreux, Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Yverdon-les-Bains followed Basel in outlawing the posters in publicly owned spaces, Geneva, Zurich, Biel, Winterthur and Lucerne have rejected the ban on free-speech grounds. The main poster, which shows a woman in a burka and a Swiss flag with minarets springing out of…
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