Portugal\u2019s lawmakers approve far-right party\u2019s bill to ban face veils
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\nPortugal\u2019s parliament has approved legislation introduced by the far-right Chega party that would prohibit full-face veils such as the burqa and niqab in most public settings for \u201cgender or religious\u201d reasons, Al Jazeera reported. Under the measure, wearing such garments could incur fines between \u20ac200 and \u20ac4,000, and forcing someone to wear one could carry prison sentences of up to three years. <\/p>\n
The bill still requires signature or possible referral to the Constitutional Court by President Marcelo\u202fRebelo\u202fde\u202fSousa, meaning it is not yet law. If enacted, Portugal would join a growing list of European nations\u2014including France, Austria, Belgium and Netherlands\u2014that have banned or restricted full-face coverings. <\/p>\n
Supporters framed the legislation as necessary to ensure gender equality, social integration and public security. During parliamentary debate, Chega leader Andr\u00e9\u202fVentura declared: \u201cWe are today protecting female members of parliament, your daughters, our daughters, from having to use burqas in this country one day.\u201d <\/p>\n
Critics, however\u2014including lawmakers from the centre-left Socialist\u202fParty\u202f(Portugal)\u2014warn that the bill unfairly targets a religious minority, noting that full-face veils are extremely rare in Portugal. Socialist MP Pedro\u202fDelgado\u202fAlves said: \u201cThis initiative is used solely to target foreigners, those who have a different faith.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Portugal\u2019s lawmakers approve far-right party\u2019s bill to ban face veils ————————————– Portugal\u2019s parliament has approved legislation introduced by the far-right Chega party that would prohibit full-face veils such as the burqa and niqab in most public settings for \u201cgender or religious\u201d reasons, Al Jazeera reported. Under the measure, wearing such garments could incur fines between …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":135719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[10050],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-portugal"],"yoast_head":"\n