President Seguro signs face-covering ban into law
Portugal's President António José Seguro has enacted a law that largely prohibits face coverings in public spaces, a measure widely viewed as aimed at Muslim women who wear full-face veils. The legislation, which has been dubbed the "burqa law" by local media, was adopted by the Portuguese parliament last month with the support of the governing right-wing coalition and far-right parties, while left-wing parties voted against it.
"The face must be considered a central element of human identity and communication," Seguro said in a statement, as reported by multiple outlets. The President's press release elaborated that "the uncovered face constitutes a structuring dimension of social trust, a characteristic of Portuguese society," and cited social integration, non-discrimination based on gender, and security from similar decisions by the European Court of Human Rights.
What the law prohibits
The law prohibits wearing garments designed to conceal the face or prevent identification in public spaces. It also bans coercing a person to cover their face for reasons related to gender, religion, age or origin. Violators face fines ranging from 150 to 3,000 euros (approximately $175 to $3,500), with conversions varying slightly between reports—$170-$3,500 in the Dawn article and around $175 and $3,500 in the Fox News piece.
Exemptions are provided for health, professional, artistic, or weather-related needs, as well as within places of worship, diplomatic missions, and aboard airplanes.
Political opposition and concerns
The bill was put forward by the far-right Chega party, as reported by Euronews. It received negative opinions from the Portuguese Bar Association, the High Council of the Public Prosecutor's Office, and the Portuguese Association of Women Lawyers, alongside concerns over its potential unconstitutionality.
The centre-left Socialist Party (PS), green-left Livre and the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) opposed the proposal, warning it could fuel Islamophobia. The PS denounced the "Islamophobic purpose that was evident in the explanatory memorandum [of the bill], the context of radicalism in which we live and the risks this creates for the communities directly targeted." The PCP said the proposal had "nothing to do with women's rights, nor with security issues" but was "exclusively aimed at fuelling hate speech and violence against those who are different, fuelling racist and xenophobic discourse."
Livre accused the right of "hypocrisy" and of conducting the debate in a "biased manner," in an attempt to create today in Portugal as part of a "moral panic over a supposed Islamic invasion" that the far right often talks about.
Reactions and justifications
President Seguro acknowledged the issue was of "great social and cultural sensitivity." Rights groups have long argued that such bans effectively erode women's rights by telling them what to wear, a point noted in the Dawn coverage while FOX also picked up on the President's press release stating that approving women must hide their faces implies "an asymmetry incompatible with the values of parity and equal dignity between men and women."
He has not yet acknowledged the political controversy surrounding the law, which was passed by the current parliament. However, his statement emphasizing the centrality of the face in human identity was carried by multiple outlets.