Switzerland is a country widely known for its neutrality and places itself at the crossroads of debate around freedom of religion and expression by banning women from wearing the burka or niqab in public spaces.
By a narrow margin, Swiss voters chose to ban people from covering their faces completely on the streets, in shops and restaurants, for health and safety reasons, as many around the world still wear face masks to protect themselves against COVID-19 to protect. Switzerland did not instruct much later than other European countries to wear face masks.
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In a video on the Swiss government’s website, the arguments in favor of a ban are stated, it is claimed that ‘religious veils such as the burqa or the niqab are a symbol of the oppression of women and are not suitable for our society ‘. according to The Guardian. Religious veils and headgear are worn by adherents of many different customs, including Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Sikhism. However, the burka or the niqab is specific to Islam and is associated with extremism.
“The public debate that has been taking place in the media and politics in Switzerland since 2006 usually paints a general picture of helpless, poorly integrated women being forced to completely disguise their father or husband,” said Andreas Tunger-Zanetti, a researcher at the University of Lucerne and coordinator of the Center for Research on Religions, adding that the evidence does not support this.
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Muslims, many of whom come from nearby Turkey, Bosnia and Kosovo, make up about 5 percent of the 8.6 million Swiss population. Of these, at most 37 women in Switzerland wear a niqab, a veil that covers the entire face and only leaves the eyes free, and no one wears the burka, a veil for the whole body, according to a survey by the center. The study also found that those who wear niqabs, the majority of whom are socialized in the west and not raised Muslim, do so out of self-conviction, with no evidence of extremism.
“This symbolic policy is aimed at female and male Muslims,” the Swiss Federation of Islamic Umbrella Organizations said in a statement. “But it also harms the whole of Switzerland, which has undermined its own values by accepting the initiative.”
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