Swiss senate rejects bill calling for nationwide burqa ban

Swiss People's Party has launched a petition to take the issue of the burqa ban to a referendum

Swiss parliament's upper house rejected a bill which called upon the country to outlaw the Muslim face veil on Thursday.

The draft bill  was passed by the lower house in September. After debate, however, the senate opposed it.

The bill was proposed by the hardline Swiss People's Party (SVP). MP Walter Wobmann called for a federal ban on veils and other face coverings in public places across Switzerland's 26 cantons.



The Senate, however, decided that it is the responsibility of individual cantons and not the federal government to decide if a ban on face veil is necessary.

The senate also went on to say such a ban wasn't necessary as very few people in Switzerland don the face veil. It could also hurt the country's tourism, it added.

Speaking during the debate, Socialist Anita Fetz agreed with the commission, saying it wasn’t a widespread issue in Switzerland. “Even among tourists, cases are rare. I’ve seen perhaps two to three tourists entirely veiled in Basel in my whole life,” she said.

"There are probably more people who hike naked than wear the burqa," said Andrea Caroni, who is senator from Appenzell Ausserrhoden where naked hiking is in fact banned.

Wobmann has launched a petition to take the issue of the burqa ban to a referendum where the decision would be left up to the people. It needs 100,000 signatures by September.

This story originally appeared in The Local.