Switzerland overwhelmingly votes for burqa ban with £6,500 fine for Muslim women who rebel

[BlueMTexpat]

44. The title of the article is

misleading. Ticino is only one canton in Switzerland and the law only applies in that canton.

You are correct about passage of the anti-minaret referendum. But ALL of the French-speaking cantons opposed that referendum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_minaret_referendum,_2009

Generally speaking, the French-speaking cantons are more liberal than the others. In fact, the cantons of Geneva and Vaud together comprise most of the international population in the country - due to the presence of the European HQ of the UN and most of the UN's Specialized Agencies, as well as other international organizations such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC). Thus, their populations likely include more Muslims than anywhere else in the country.

It goes to show that in Switzerland, as in the US, those who have the least exposure to foreigners and their different cultures and religions are among the most fanatic in opposing them. Ignorance is practically a disease.

Those of us who actually live among them (I live in Vaud) know that they are human beings just like anyone else and deserve to be treated accordingly.

Does this mean that I favor the burqa? Personally, I do not at all favor a full burqa - for security reasons principally.

I have no problem with head coverings that show one's face, however. We are living in an age of heightened security and being able to see an individual's face seems to be a reasonable precaution, so long as one religion/culture is not singled out specifically.

I understand that the Ticino law specifically singles out Islam, which can cause problems with Swiss federal law. And, as I mentioned in a response above, during my >21 years in the most international part of Switzerland, frequented by many ME tourists, I have seen full burqas on five or fewer women.

Generally speaking, most ME women are delighted to visit/live here because they do not have to wear the coverings they most often must wear in their home countries. Many of them are working within their own cultures to improve the situation of women there. Those are the women we should be encouraging and helping.

I am also old enough to remember when it was a requirement to cover one's head in a Catholic church if one was a woman. That requirement only changed in the 1960s after Vatican II.

As for prizing conformity, in my experience in Switzerland, it is less conformity than being a good and responsible citizen who respects the rights of others that counts most.