Referendum | Switzerland has publicly banned cover faces

France Media Agency

According to official results released by the federal government, the text, originally proposed by the moderate Democratic Party UDC, received 51.21% of the vote and a majority of votes.

He was supported by feminists and secular left-wing voters.

“We are just happy. We do not want radical Islam in our country, “said Marco Chisa, president of the Swiss SVP.

The text does not refer to the burqa – a large cloth covering from head to toe and fitted with a mesh slit at eye level – or a niqab that completely covers the body and face except for the eyes, but campaign posters have no doubt about the purpose of the referendum.

Switzerland will meet after years of negotiations in France, Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium and Denmark, by voting against wearing a full wheel in the open field.

Therefore it is now forbidden to cover the face completely in public – this also applies to hooded performers – but places of worship are exempt, for example.

Switzerland also voted in favor of a trade agreement with Indonesia (51.65%), but largely rejected the introduction of federal electronic recognition by the private sector (64.36%).

Tourists

Yes Miriam Mastour, a member of the Les Foulards Violets ensemble and a member of the feminist strike on the public channel RTS, declares that Muslim women “trivialize the atmosphere of xenophobia and racism.” On the other hand, she was happy with the small gap between yes and no, with the first polls highlighting the SVP’s initiative the most.

In the opinion of opponents, full wheel wearing is not a thing in Switzerland, where it is estimated that a few dozen women dressed in this way are usually proselytizing. The richest tourists we see are often dressed this way to the chic shops of Geneva or Zurich.

The result is “very reassuring,” said Mohamed Hamdoui, a member of the Bernese Grand Council and founder of the “Face to Face” campaign at ATS. According to a PS member who claims to be a secular Muslim, “this vote is a sign of understanding”. He emphasized that the letter was not a signal of a formal antitrust inquiry into Islam, but rather a signal of a formal antitrust inquiry into the allegations.

“The ban on full-face masks is not an act aimed at women’s emancipation. On the contrary, it is a dangerous signal that freedom of expression and religion are being violated,” said Serial Hugenot, head of women’s rights at Amnesty International Switzerland.

According to 2019 Statistics Office statistics, 5.5% of the Swiss population is Muslim, with origins mainly in former Yugoslavia, where this sartorial tradition does not exist.

The move was opposed by the federal government and parliament.

In 2009, Switzerland already voted to ban the construction of minarets on mosques, provoke anger in Muslim countries and endorse European nationalist parties.

Shortly after voting on Sunday, 150 protesters – mostly young people – rallied in Bern, the AFP journalist said. “We must decolonize the Muslim woman”, one can read on a sign in German or the other can have the head of a toy covered with “My head belongs to me”.