Switzerland has carefully voted to ban full coverage, including niqabs and burkas, from most public spaces.
CNN reports that the controversial referendum was passed with 52.21 percent of the vote. It prohibits coverings of public faces, including streets, public offices, public transport, restaurants and shops.
Exceptions will be made for places of worship, holy places and for health and safety reasons. However, exceptions will not be made for tourists.
The referendum has been criticized by religious groups, human rights groups and the federal government, CNN reports. The Swiss Federal Council, the Federal Government of Switzerland and the Swiss Parliament both discouraged voters from supporting the referendum.
Critics also argue that the proposal is essentially useless because almost no one in Switzerland wears a burka and that the number of people wearing niqab is at most in the low dozens.
The proposal was put forward by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party and although it does not mention Islam, it is called a ‘burka ban’ in the Swiss media, according to CNN.
Amnesty International said in a statement: “Swiss voters have once again endorsed an initiative that discriminates against one religious community in particular, unnecessarily inciting divisions and fears.”
Public burka bans have been implemented in several European countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands. CNN notes that the United Nations Human Rights Committee has said that the measures violate the human rights of Muslim women and could lead to ‘their restriction to their homes’.