More than 60 percent of voters will vote yes, or are considering doing so, in a forthcoming referendum, surveys show.
A clear majority of Swiss voters would prefer to introduce a national ban against wearing full face coverings such as burqas and niqabs in public places, a poll on Friday showed.
According to a Tamedia poll of 15,000 eligible voters, 63 per cent of those polled said they would vote yes or were considering voting yes in a forthcoming referendum on the “burqa ban” , Tages Anzeiger newspaper reported.
Switzerland is expected to vote on whether to ban full face coverage in public on March 7, when it will also vote on a number of other issues as part of the country’s direct democratic system.
The text of the proposed ban does not explicitly refer to Muslim vestments, stating only that “no one shall cover his face in public, or in areas accessible to the public or in areas where services are generally accessible to all ”.
But the proposal, which has been opposed by the Swiss government, is widely seen as targeting niqabs, burqas and other face-covering vests worn by some Muslim women.
The campaign proposes some exceptions to the ban, including in “places of worship” and for “health reasons”.
The group behind the proposal – the “Egerkinger Komitee” – includes members of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP). Some left-wing politicians have also joined the campaign in the name of women’s rights protection.
Bad idea
But the Swiss government has warned against a nationwide constitutional ban, saying this week that such a move was a bad idea. Swiss Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter confirmed that women with face plaids are rarely seen in Switzerland.
She also said that most of the women seen in the country with such gowns are tourists.
Keller-Sutter said the case should be left to the 26 canton of Switzerland.
Two cantons, Ticino and St Gallen, have introduced such a ban, while three other cantons, Zurich, Solothurn and Glarus, have refused to do so in recent years.
The government and parliament support a counter-appeal, requiring people to show their faces to the authorities for identification purposes, for example at borders or on public transport.
A fine of up to 10,000 Swiss francs ($ 11,300) could be imposed on anyone who refuses, according to the count, to take effect if the proposal for full face coverage is banned.
The “Egerkinger Komitee” was also behind Switzerland’s move in 2009 to ban the construction of new minarets, which was approved by nearly 60 percent of voters.
Proponents of the 2009 proposal saw the minarets as alien to Swiss traditions and values.
Muslims make up only about 5 percent of Switzerland’s 8.6 million people, official statistics show.