Portugal enacts ‘burqa law’ largely prohibiting face coverings in public

Portuguese President António José Seguro has enacted a measure that largely prohibits individuals from covering up their face while out in public, a restriction broadly viewed as being aimed at Muslim women, according to AFP.

But the report noted various carve outs to the prohibition, including for health, professional, artistic, or weather-linked issues, and for when people are at locations of worship, diplomatic missions, or aboard planes.

Those who fail to comply face being slapped with fines of 150 euros to 3,000 euros, according to the outlet — those figures convert to around $175 and $3,500 respectively.

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The final edition of the measure, which has been characterized by local media as the “burqa law” in reference to the body and face covering that some Muslim women wear, was adopted by the Portuguese parliament last month, according to AFP.

The law bans sporting coverings meant to hide a person’s face or block identification in public areas, and bans requiring someone to cloak their face due to gender, religion, age, or origin, the report states.

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“For the President of the Republic, the uncovered face constitutes a structuring dimension of social trust, a characteristic of Portuguese society,” according to an English translation of a Portuguese-language press release.

“Social integration, non-discrimination based on gender, and the security resulting from similar decisions by the European Court of Human Rights underpin this decision. The President of the Republic shares this Court’s conviction that the face is central to human identity and communication, serving as a minimum element for mutual recognition among fellow citizens,” the release notes.

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“And to admit that women, and only women, must hide their entire faces implies an asymmetry incompatible with the values ​​of parity and equal dignity between men and women, values ​​that shape European democracies,” the release states.