Arab News | Spanish city bans burqa, niqab in public spaces

BARCELONA: The Spanish city of Lleida on Friday approved a ban on full-face coverings in most public spaces in a rare step targeting the Muslim burqa and niqab in the country.

Unlike European neighbors such as France, Portugal or Belgium, Spain has no national legislation banning or restricting the use of the garments worn by some Muslim women.

A provincial capital of around 150,000 people in the northeastern region of Catalonia, around 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of Barcelona, Lleida banned full-face veils in some public spaces in 2010, in a first for Spain.

But the Spanish Supreme Court nullified the measure in 2013 following a long legal challenge by a Muslim association.

The court ruled that the ban infringed on religious freedom and transgressed the powers of a local authority, also canceling similar measures adopted in other municipalities.

A meeting of Lleida’s city parliament on Friday voted 16-11 to modify a municipal law that was drawn up with the aim of avoiding similar legal pitfalls.

The measure includes a ban on “remaining in or moving through public spaces with items or elements that totally cover the face,” without explicitly mentioning the burqa or the niqab.

The burqa is a one-piece garment that covers the entire head and body, whereas the niqab is a face veil that leaves the eyes clear.

The reform allows for “exceptions linked to cases involving the exercise of basic rights, places of worship and spaces or uses where these customs are socially accepted.”

Those who break the new law will incur fines.

The Catalan Socialist party joined an unusual alliance with far-right formation Vox and Catalan separatists Junts to pass the measure, according to the city hall.

“Living together means respecting one another, and respecting one another also means following the rules,” Lleida’s Socialist mayor Felix Larrosa told the municipal parliament.