Switzerland is set to hold a referendum on 7 March to decide whether to ban full facial coverings such as burqas and niqabs in public.
Ironically, the vote will take place on the eve of International Women’s Day on 8 March, which strives for a gender-equal world, and taking away a Muslim woman’s right to wear a face veil goes against it.
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According to details, the ban has been advocated by the Egerkinger Komitee, a group including politicians of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP).
In 2017, the group reached the required 100,000 signatures to put the issue to a referendum, now due to take place this weekend.
Various pre-poll surveys have shown that more than 60 percent of Swiss voters favor the ban on burqas and niqabs, which suggests that the proposed ban will become a law.
Muslims account for 5.2% of the Swiss population that is 8.6 million. None of the Muslim women in Switzerland wear a burqa and only around 35 women wear the niqab.
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Swiss Muslims have termed the referendum ‘Islamophobic.’ They have argued that the ban will project Switzerland’s image as an anti-Islamic country and will create resentment among the Muslim world.
Besides Switzerland, France, Denmark, Austria, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands also have full or partial bans on wearing full facial coverings in public.
