Burkha ban is back in Lleida following ECHR ruling over France
Sunday, July 6, 2014 @ 11:52 PM
A BAN on wearing burkhas or niqabs in public places is set to return in the province of Lleida in Catalunya following a European court verdict supporting a blanket prohibition in France.
Pioneers in Spain for outlawing the burkha – which conceals the entire head and body leaving only the hands and a thin strip across the eyes uncovered – and the niqab, which covers the head and the lower part of the face, including the mouth, the town of La Paeria in Lleida did not go as far as France by banning them altogether but announced in 2010 that women were no longer able to wear them in public places such as council buildings or business premises.
The rest of Lleida city and province followed suit.
As well as considering these face-coverings 'an attack on women's freedom and dignity', the reasoning behind the ban was safety, security and identification.
They reasoned that if motorbike riders were expected to remove their helmets so their faces could be recognised and to guard against robberies or armed attacks – as well as for politeness when talking to people – expecting Muslim women to remove their burkhas and niqabs could not be considered discrimination.
And for this reason, they have not forbidden women to wear a hiyab, which is basically a headscarf that conceals the hair and neck but leaves the face uncovered.
Catalunya's regional high court of justice supported this, but the ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court on the grounds that it was outside the town councils' jurisdiction and any such law should come from the regional Parliament.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com