Burqa ban approved by parliamentary committee

Portugal’s right-wing parties have approved a bill banning the concealment of faces in public spaces at committee stage – paving the way for a final parliamentary vote after months of political negotiations over wording.

The proposal, commonly referred to as the “burqa law”, was approved this morning by the parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs with the support of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD), far-right CHEGA, Iniciativa Libeal (Liberal Initiative/ IL) and the conservative CDS – People’s Party.

All left-wing parties voted against.

The committee vote mirrors the outcome of the bill’s approval in principle last October. Since then, the legislation had remained stalled for around eight months while lawmakers negotiated amendments designed to address potential constitutional objections.

The original proposal was introduced by CHEGA, and explicitly sought to prohibit face coverings, such as Islamic burqas and niqabs, in public places.

However, in June the PSD tabled a replacement text that shifted the emphasis away from religious clothing and towards public security, seeking to reduce the risk that the legislation could later be struck down on constitutional grounds, particularly in relation to freedom of religion.

CHEGA initially threatened to reject the PSD’s revised wording, arguing it diluted the original proposal.

But yesterday evening, the party submitted its own amended version, bringing it closer to the government’s approach and allowing the two parties to reach agreement.

At the start of today’s committee meeting, PSD deputy António Rodrigues announced that his party was withdrawing its own replacement text because CHEGA’s latest proposal represented what he described as “a significant political convergence”.

The final version therefore frames the ban primarily as a public safety measure rather than legislation specifically targeting religious dress.

Nevertheless, during the debate, CHEGA MP Madalena Cordeiro, IL’s Rui Rocha and CDS deputy João Almeida all argued that the legislation should also address the concealment of faces for religious reasons – underlining that issue in their political interventions despite the revised legal wording.

The bill will now proceed through the remaining stages of Portugal’s legislative process before a final vote in the full parliament.

If approved, it would introduce restrictions on face coverings in public spaces, with the legislation framed principally around security considerations rather than religious practice in an effort to improve its chances of surviving constitutional scrutiny.

Source material: noticiasaominuto/ LUSA

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.