Switzerland will become the fifth European country that bans face coverings such as Islamic ‘niqabs’.

A majority of 51.2% of the population voted ‘yes’ to a popular initiative that had asked to make mandatory for all citizens to show their face on the street, in open buildings, businesses, public transportation, and other social contexts.

Face coverings will continue to be allowed in places of worship. Other exceptions will include covering one’s face when there are adverse weather conditions, or during traditional festivals such as carnival.  

The ‘yes’ happened despite both the Swiss parliament and the government had asked to reject the popular initiative. This initiative succeeded in becoming a referendum issue after 100,000 signatures were collected in advance.

It is the first time since 2014 that such a popular initiative – not promoted by the parliament – is accepted.

A focus on radical Islam

The ban on face coverings will also make the identification of rioters and violent protesters easier, the promoters of the campaign “Stop extremism” said. But analysts in Swiss media agreed that the main focus of the vote had to do with Islamic extremism.

Switzerland has around 5% of Muslim population and a majority of Muslim women in the country do not wear face coverings. In fact, the group that could be most affected by the new ban would be the thousands of tourists from Arabic and other Muslism-majority countries that visit Switzerland every year, many of which do use ‘niqab’ or ‘burka’ in public spaces, while shopping or attending events.

In 2009, the Swiss already voted ‘yes’ to banning the building of minarets (towers of mosques).

The position of evangelical Christians

The political party with an evangelical background EDU (1 representative in parliament) had campaigned in favour of the ‘yes’ and celebrated the outcome on Sunday 7 March. The other evangelical party, EVP (3 parliamentarians), had given free vote to its members.

The Swiss Evangelical Alliance issued an analysis document in advance of the vote, denouncing that face coverings made real equality between men and women more difficult, but also admitting that banning a religious symbol could clash with religious freedom.

According to local news website SwissInfo, the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS) reacted to the vote saying it was a “big disappointment for all Muslims who were born in and grew up in Switzerland”. The Muslim entity lamented that “the vote has succeeded in anchoring in the constitution a widespread islamophobia in Switzerland”.