GENEVA (AP) – At a time when everyone in Europe is apparently wearing masks to fight COVID-19, the Swiss are going to the polls on Sunday to vote on a long-standing proposal to ban face masks, both the niqabs and burkas worn by some Muslim women in the country and the ski masks and bandannas used by protesters.
The issue falls on the intersection of religious freedom, security, the economy and women’s rights.
Critics say the proposal ‘Yes to a ban on covering the face’ is an ironic setback to a time not long ago, when violent extremism was a major source of concern as a global pandemic, saying it was the Muslims who wear the whole face wearing burkas will unfairly stigmatize. niqabs, which have open slits for the eyes, in Switzerland.
Proponents, including populist, right-wing movements behind the idea, say it is necessary to combat what they see as a sign of oppression of women and to uphold a basic principle faced in a free society such as that of the rich Alpine democracy. .
The issue is one of three measures on national ballots during the vote that will take place on Sunday – most voters in Switzerland will vote by mail – as part of the latest part of the regular Swiss referendum, which will give voters a direct say in the policy.
Other proposals will create an ‘e-ID’ to improve the security of online transactions – an idea pursued by private lawyers – and a free trade agreement with Indonesia, backed by environmentalists concerned about palm oil plantations on the archipelago. in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The face-covering measure was popularly called the ‘burka ban’. This would bring Switzerland in line with countries such as Belgium and France, which have already introduced similar measures. Two Swiss regions also already have such bans.
One campaign poster presented by the Swiss People’s Party – a populist, right-wing party that is the leading faction in parliament and strongly supported the measure – contains a caricature of the screaming eyes of a woman in a burqa over the words : ‘Stop Islamic Radicalism. ”
A coalition of left-wing parties put up signs that read: ‘Absurd. Useless. Islamophobia. ”
Support has apparently eroded, but the mood is expected to be tough. In an initial poll for the public broadcaster SSR by the agency gfs.bern in January, it was found that more than half of the voters support the proposal, but a second poll published on February 24 showed that the figures has fallen to less than half. Some remain indecisive.
The Swiss government opposes the measure, arguing that it could slow economic development: Most Muslim women wearing such veils in Switzerland are visitors from affluent Persian Gulf states, often attracted by rural Swiss eastern cities. The Minister of Justice maintains that the existing laws only work well.
The measure makes it punishable by fines to cover the face in public in places such as restaurants, sports stadiums, public transport or simply to walk in the street – although exceptions are made for religious, safety and health reasons, as well as for the traditional Swiss Carnival celebrations.
A counter-proposal requires people to show their faces when the authorities request it.
This is another indication of how Switzerland is dealing with security issues and cultures and people from abroad. In the past, Swiss voters have approved a ban on the construction of minarets in the Alpine country whose flag bears the cross.
Andreas Tunger-Zanetti, a researcher who heads the Center for Religious Studies at the University of Lucerne, estimates at most a few dozen Muslim women carrying 8.5 million people in the country, and says the issue is really going about Switzerland. about religion and the ability to “address diversity.”