The Spanish city of Lleida has approved a new ban on full-face coverings in most public spaces, in a move that affects garments such as the Muslim burqa and niqab.
Lleida, a city of about 150,000 people in northeastern Spain’s Catalonia region, had introduced a similar restriction in 2010, becoming the first Spanish city to do so. However, Spain’s Supreme Court overturned the measure in 2013 after a legal challenge by a Muslim association, ruling that it infringed on religious freedom and exceeded the powers of a local authority.
On Friday, Lleida’s city parliament voted 16-11 to amend its municipal regulations. The new rule does not specifically mention the burqa or niqab but prohibits people from “remaining in or moving through public spaces with items or elements that totally cover the face.”
The regulation provides exceptions for situations involving the exercise of basic rights, places of worship and locations or activities where such practices are socially accepted. Anyone who violates the new rule will face fines.
The measure was passed through an unusual alliance between the Catalan Socialist Party, far-right Vox and Catalan separatist party Junts.
Lleida’s Socialist mayor, Felix Larrosa, defended the decision, saying, “Living together means respecting one another, and respecting one another also means following the rules.”
