An estimated 100 Muslim women in Switzerland wear the burqa but public opinion appears to be set for a ban
Keystone
A large majority of citizens is apparently in favour of introducing a nationwide ban on burkas for Muslim women in Switzerland, according to an opinion poll.
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More than 60% of respondents said they would outlaw the Muslim religious garment in public spaces, the survey by the Léger Switzerland polling institute found.
The SonntagsBlick newspaper says people of all age groups and both in the German- as well as in the French-speaking parts of the country would vote for a ban.
About one in three respondents are apparently against it.
A member of the rightwing Swiss People’s Party is planning to launch a campaign next year for a nationwide vote on the issue.
Last year, a two-third majority of voters in Italian-speaking Ticino – one of 26 Swiss cantons – agreed a public ban in the southern Swiss region. But the decision is pending approval by the federal authorities.
Five years ago, a People’s Party committee won a nationwide vote banning the construction of new minarets in Switzerland, prompting a political upset.
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Burka ban ‘would drive away our best customers’
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“Tourists from the Gulf states will think twice about whether they should go to Switzerland,” Barbara Gisi, head of the Swiss Tourism Association, told the SonntagsBlick. On September 22, two-thirds of voters in canton Ticino approved a ban on face-covering headgear in public places – the first canton to do so. It will now be…
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On September 22, Italian-speaking Ticino became the first Swiss canton to accept such a ban, with more than 65 per cent of voters in favour. This result has boosted the hopes of those backing a future nationwide initiative. “The text is ready. It is similar to one put forward by canton Aargau and rejected by…
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Following a March Senate vote with the same result, the house decided by 93 votes to 87 that the initiative would not go through. Speaking for the majority, centre-right Radical Party parliamentarian Hugues Hiltpold said banning the burka would be excessive and would encourage tourists from Muslim countries to have negative opinions of the country. “Today…
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