Swiss vote to outlaw facial coverings in ‘burqa ban’ poll

Official results showed that 51.2 percent of voters supported the proposal to ban face coverings in public places.

Swiss voters have narrowly approved a proposal to ban face coverings in a decision that critics branded Islamophobic and sexist. Official results showed that 51.2 percent of voters, and a majority of federal Switzerland’s cantons, supported the proposal. Some 1,426,992 voters were in favour of the ban, while 1,359,621 were against, on a 50.8 percent turnout. The vote comes after years of debate in Switzerland following similar bans in other European countries, despite Muslim women wearing full-face veils being an exceptionally rare sight in Swiss streets.

The full article Swiss vote to outlaw facial coverings in ‘burqa ban’ poll can be found on the Al Jazeera website.