![\"Swiss-govt-urges-voters-to-reject-niqab-ban-in-March-referendum-rapidnews-rapid-news\"](\"https:\/\/dailyrapidnews.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Swiss-govt-urges-voters-to-reject-niqab-ban-in-March-referendum-rapidnews-rapid-news.jpg\")
In 2009, Swiss voters backed a proposal to ban the construction of new minarets.<\/p>\nThe Swiss government recommended on Tuesday that voters reject a proposal in a planned March 7 referendum to ban full facial coverings such as burqas and niqabs, worn by some Muslim women, saying the move would hurt tourism.<\/p>\n
Under Switzerland\u2019s system of direct democracy, any proposal to change the constitution goes to a popular vote if supporters raise more than 100,000 signatures.<\/p>\n
In 2009, Swiss voters backed a proposal to ban the construction of new minarets.<\/p>\n
The Swiss cantons of St Gallen and Ticino have already banned full-face coverings in regional votes, but the Swiss government said following through with a nationwide constitutional ban was a bad idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery few people in Switzerland wear a full facial covering,\u201d the government said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cA nationwide ban would undermine the sovereignty of the cantons, damage tourism and be unhelpful for certain groups of women,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Most women who wear full facial coverings are tourists and only spend a brief time in the country, the statement added.<\/p>\n
Montreux and other destinations around Lake Geneva, as well as Interlaken in central Switzerland, traditionally attract some Muslim tourists, mainly from the wealthy Gulf Arab states.<\/p>\n
Switzerland\u2019s proposal also forbids forcing somebody to wear a facial covering based on their gender.<\/p>\n
The grouping behind the proposal \u2013 the \u201cEgerkinger Komitee\u201d that includes members of the right-wing Swiss People\u2019s Party (SVP) \u2013 was also behind the 2009 move to ban minarets, which was approved by nearly 60 percent of voters.<\/p>\n
Supporters of the 2009 proposal saw the minarets as alien to Swiss traditions and values.<\/p>\n
Muslims make up only about 5 percent of Switzerland\u2019s 8.6 million people, official statistics show.<\/p>\n
The Swiss government has made a counterproposal to the facial covering ban that would come into force if voters reject the initial proposal on March 7.<\/p>\n
This would require women wearing a facial covering to reveal their face if necessary for identification at administrative offices or on public transport.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Europe, France and Denmark have banned facial coverings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Swiss government recommended on Tuesday that voters reject a proposal in a planned March<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n