Update: Switzerland Implements Public "Ban On Burqa And Face Coverings For Muslim Women Starting 2025

Switzerland’s upcoming nationwide “burqa ban” will officially go into effect on January 1, 2025. This measure prohibits face coverings in public spaces, impacting attire such as burqas and niqabs worn by some Muslim women. 

Although the ban is framed as a general rule, it largely affects a small minority of Muslim women who wear these garments, Dafy World gathered.

The governing Federal Council said in a statement it had fixed the start of the ban, and that anyone who unlawfully flouts it faces a fine of up to 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,144).

BREAKING: Switzerland 🇨🇭 has banned the Burqa and will not allow Muslim women from covering their faces in public, starting January 1, 2025.

Should more European countries follow suit? pic.twitter.com/Zz53gCAC3w

— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) November 7, 2024

The ban does not apply to planes or in diplomatic and consular premises, and faces may also be covered in places of worship and other sacred sites, the government said.

Facial coverings will remain permitted for reasons relating to health and safety, for native customs, or due to weather conditions, it said. They would also be allowed on artistic and entertainment grounds and for advertising, it added.

If such coverings are needed for personal protection in exercising freedom of expression and assembly, they should be permitted provided the responsible authority has already approved them and public order is not compromised, it said.