Women wearing a burqa or niqab in the Swiss region of Ticino will be faced with a fine of up to $9,790, after the government made it illegal to wear the veils in public. However, despite the Swiss parliament declaring that the ban does not violate federal law, there is no certainty when the new rules will begin to be enforced.
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The local government in the southern Swiss state approved the ban after a referendum in September 2013 saw two in three voters backing the move.
“When our committee launched the [anti-burqa] initiative, we were accused by many to be racist and xenophobic”.
Giorgio Ghiringhelli drew up the proposal. “Now, I hope that the implementing regulation will be issued as soon as possible, so that the ban can become active”. “But those who rebuff our values and aim to build a parallel society based on religious laws, and want to place it over our society, are not welcome”, The Independent reports.
The new rules went into effect on November 24, after over 65 per cent of voters in the Italian-speaking region of Ticino voted in favor of banning the veil.
The ban was also supposed to be applied to people who cover their faces with, for example, masks and balaclavas during protests.
Increased security measures were taken for the voting session Monday with metal detectors to prevent a possible disturbance by demonstrators. The law caused worldwide uproar, but the European Court of Human Rights upheld it in July 2014.
Ticino is now the first canton to introduce such measures, which mirror similar laws to those introduced in France in 2010.
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Similar laws have since been passed in Belgium and the Netherlands.
