Swiss canton outlaws full-face veil

Residents of Switzerland’s Italian-speaking region have voted to ban full-face veils, after similar laws against Muslims were enforced in France and Belgium.

Results from a referendum in the Swiss canton of Ticino on Sunday revealed that 65 percent of people voted in favor of the proposal to ban the covering of faces in public places.
The measure stipulated “No one may mask or hide their face on the public highway, nor in places open to the public, except places of worship, nor those offering a public service.… No one may require another person to cover their faces for reasons of gender.”
Experts said the law will be tethered to the Canton’s constitution, making it tough to overturn.
The Swiss Central Islamic Council condemned the results as “yet another loud expression of social Islamophobia.”
Amnesty International also said the measure was a “black day for human rights in Ticino.”
The move comes after France passed a law banning full-face veils in public in 2010.
In 2011, Belgium passed a similar law, becoming the second European Union nation to enforce discriminatory laws against Muslims.
The Spanish city of Barcelona also passed a partial ban on face-covering veils in public places.