Balearic Islands turns into the most recent territory to suggest burka ban

The ruling party in the Balearic Islands has submitted a proposal to parliament calling for the burka and niqab to be banned. 

The People’s Party of the Balearic Islands – which emerged as the largest parliamentary force at the 2023 regional election – argued that both garments are symbols of submission and should not be allowed in public.

Presenting the proposal to the parliament in Palma, Mallorca on Wednesday, PP deputy Cristina Gil said the burka and niqab were ‘incompatible with a democratic society’.

The politician emphasised that the policy ‘is not aimed at any religion’ but designed to defend ‘the freedom, dignity and equality of women’.

She argued that the Spanish constitution calls for equality between men and women, and that ‘religious freedom cannot be used to justify discriminatory practices’.

Citing other European countries like France, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Bulgaria, and Switzerland, she said ‘Spain cannot lag behind in the defense of human rights’.

The deputy drew comparisons between the burka, niqab and the ‘utter barbarities’ of female genital mutilation and forced child marriages, according to local newspaper Última Hora.

She called on Pedro Sánchez, the Prime Minister of Spain from the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, to enact the necessary legislative reforms to prohibit the use of the full-face Islamic veil in all public buildings.

The ruling party in the Balearic Islands has submitted a proposal to parliament calling for the burka and niqab to be banned [File photo]

The president of the Balearic Islands is currently Marga Prohens, from the conservative and Christian People’s Party.

It managed to form a right-wing minority cabinet in May 2023, with the support of the hard-right Vox party.

Italy’s ruling Brothers of Italy party put forward legislation in October to ban the burqa and niqab in public spaces, part of a broader bill aimed at combating what it called ‘cultural separatism’ linked to Islam.

The bill, presented to parliament by lawmakers from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party, would prohibit garments covering the face in all public places, schools, universities, shops, and offices nationwide.

The burqa is a full-body garment that covers a woman from head to foot, including a mesh screen over the eyes.

The niqab is a veil for the face that leaves the area around the eyes clear.

Violators would face fines of 300 to 3,000 euros (£260-£2,600).

The legislation was aimed at combating ‘religious radicalisation and religiously-motivated hatred’, the introductory text said.

France was the first European country to introduce a blanket ban on wearing burqas in public in 2011.

The list has expanded significantly since, with more than 20 states around the world implementing some form of ban on the burqa and other full-face coverings in public, including Austria, Tunisia, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Switzerland.

The European Court of Human Rights has consistently upheld these bans, including in 2017, when it upheld Belgium’s bar on burqas and full-face veils, ruling that states may restrict such garments to protect ‘living together’ in society.

Regions of Italy already impose restrictions, such as the northern one of Lombardy, which imposed a ban on entering public buildings and hospitals with covered faces in late 2015.

Portugal’s parliament approved in October a bill to ban face veils used for ‘gender or religious motives’ in most public spaces that was proposed by the hard-right Chega party and effectively targets burqas and niqabs worn by Muslim women. 

Under the bill, proposed fines for wearing face veils in public would range between 200 euros and 4,000 euros.

Forcing someone to wear one would be punishable with prison terms of up to three years. 

Face veils would still be allowed in aeroplanes, diplomatic premises and places of worship.

During the parliamentary session, Chega leader Andre Ventura was confronted by several female lawmakers from left-wing parties who opposed the bill, but it passed with support from the centre-right coalition.

‘We are today protecting female members of parliament, your daughters, our daughters, from having to use burqas in this country one day,’ Ventura said.

Andreia Neto, a lawmaker from the ruling Social Democratic Party, said before the vote: ‘This is a debate on equality between men and women. No woman should be forced to veil her face.’

Only a small minority of Muslim women in Europe cover their faces, and in Portugal such veils are very rare.

But full-face coverings such as niqabs and burqas have become a polarising issue across Europe, with some arguing that they symbolise gender discrimination or can represent a security threat and should be outlawed.