Portugal Bans Religious Coverages in Public

Massa nominated far-right Chega party, which envisions the ban on clothing such as the burkas (covering the body from head to foot) and niqab (Islam covering the face with space for the eyes alone) in most public places. However, such covers will be allowed on airplanes, diplomatic headquarters, and places of worship.

The bill envisions fines ranging from 200 to 4 thousand euros (about 234 to $469) for anyone wearing such covers in public.

President Marcelo Rebello de Soussa has yet to pass the law he can veto or submit to the Constitutional Court for review.

If the law is signed, Portugal will join a host of other European countries, such as Austria, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, which have full or partial bans on facial and head covers.

Although the number of women wearing such covers in Portugal is small, the issue of Islamic clothing has sparked debates similar to those in other European countries.

The Chega Party has cited the reasonings of France and other European Union countries for stopping face covers usually held by Muslim women. The bill also received support from the centre-right parties.

In her document, Chega argues that <x0 facial detection subject individuals, especially women, to exclusion situations and inferiority “and that this is incompatible with the principles of “freedom, equality and human dignity”.

But the left-wing lawmakers disagreed.

“This initiative is used only to target foreigners, those who have a different religion,” said party deputy

The centre-left Socialist Pedro Delgado Alves, whose party voted against the law. He added that, although no woman should be forced to wear cover, the approach of the far right party was wrong.