Switzerland has voted to ban clothing that covers the face

It can be included in the Swiss constitution that the wearing of clothing that covers the face in public places, shops and restaurants is prohibited after the majority of Swiss voters supported the proposal on Sunday, writes the MTI. The ban on wearing the burqa and niqab was supported by 52 percent of voters in Sunday’s referendum.

The text of the proposal does not mention religious clothing, so in principle it also applies to football hooligans covering their faces.

The proposal was put forward by the same right-wing anti-Islamic group that also banned the construction of minarets in Switzerland in 2009 through a referendum.

Critics of the proposal say the organization wants to stoke anti-Islamic sentiments and promote anti-Muslim xenophobia, and say such dress codes should not be introduced into a free society.

In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that such restrictions infringed neither freedom of religion nor freedom of expression. In 2018, 5.8 percent of the Swiss population declared themselves Muslim.