A poster supporting the initiative Yes to a ban on covering the face is displayed at the village Buochs, Switzerland.
GENEVA: Swiss voters on Sunday narrowly backed a ban on full face coverings in public places a decision hailed by supporters as a bulwark against radical Islam but branded as discriminatory by opponents.
Official results showed that 51.2 percent of voters, and a clear majority of federal Switzerland s cantons, supported the proposal.
The so-called anti-burqa vote came after years of debate in Switzerland following similar bans in other European countries and in some Muslim-majority states despite women in Islamic full-face veils being an exceptionally rare sight in Swiss streets.
Swiss voters on Sunday narrowly backed a ban on full face coverings in public places a decision hailed by supporters but branded as discriminatory by opponents. Official results showed that 51.2% of voters, and a clear majority of federal Switzerland s cantons, supported the proposal. The so-called anti-burqa vote came after years of debate in Switzerland following similar bans in other European countries and in some Muslim-majority states despite women in Islamic full-face veils being an exceptionally rare sight in Swiss streets. Some 1,426,992 voters were in favour of the ban, while 1,359,621 were against, on a 50.8% turnout. The proposal
LONDON: Switzerland’s vote to ban full face coverings is “needlessly fueling division and fear,” Amnesty International has said, urging authorities to instead focus on measures that genuinely protect women. “After the vote to ban minarets, Swiss voters have once again approved an initiative that discriminates against one religious community in particular,” said Cyriele