Stock photo: GettyA far-right proposal to ban facial coverings in Switzerland has won a narrow victory in a binding referendum instigated by the same group that organised a 2009 ban on new minarets. "In Switzerland, our tradition is that you show your face. It promised legal challenges to laws implementing the ban and a fundraising drive to help women who are fined. France banned wearing a full face veil in public in 2011 and Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and Bulgaria have full or partial bans on wearing face coverings in public. Two Swiss cantons already have local bans on face coverings, although almost no one in Switzerland wears a burqa and only around 30 women wear the niqab, the University of Lucerne estimates.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 08, 2021 01:41 UTC