The Spanish parliament has begun debating a controversial proposal to ban the wearing of burqas and niqabs in public spaces. The initiative by the Vox party has gained support from the center-right People's Party but has met strong resistance from the government and left-wing groups. Although the Catalan formation Junts agrees with the idea of restrictions, it has announced it will reject Vox's proposal in favor of its own legislation, which dooms the current bill.

Failure of Vox's Initiative

The burqa ban bill will fail in parliament because the Junts party has decided to support its own legislation instead of the right-wing proposal.

Alliance of PP and Vox

The People's Party has officially announced support for the Vox proposal, which experts interpret as an attempt to bring both formations closer at the national level.

Supreme Court Warnings

Judges point to the risk of enclavization and women being confined to their homes, which could be a side effect of introducing a strict ban.

The Spanish political scene has been dominated by a debate concerning a ban on wearing burqas and niqabs in public places. The bill on this matter was introduced by the right-wing party Vox, arguing for it on grounds of security and the protection of women's dignity. Although the People's Party (PP) under the leadership of Alberto Núñez Feijóo decided to support the processing of these regulations, the initiative has no chance of being passed due to a lack of parliamentary majority support. The government coalition and smaller left-wing parties, such as Sumar, strongly criticize the proposal, calling it an instrument of stigmatization of the Muslim minority. The debate on banning face coverings in Europe has been ongoing for years. France was the first country to introduce a complete ban on wearing niqabs and burqas in public places in 2011, which was later upheld by the European Court of Human Rights.A key player in the current dispute has turned out to be the party Junts per Catalunya. Although this group has historically advocated for similar restrictions in Catalonia, this time it has announced it will vote against the Vox bill. Representatives of Junts argue they will not support initiatives from a party they consider xenophobic and have instead submitted their own bill in the Congress of Deputies. However, legal experts and Spain's Supreme Court warn that such radical regulations could have the opposite effect, leading to the social isolation of women who would be forced to stay at home. „We do not want any woman in Spain to be imprisoned in a fabric prison.” — Pepa Millán It is worth noting that this debate is taking place in a heated political period, as right-wing formations compete for the electorate ahead of upcoming election cycles. According to opponents of the bill, Vox is trying to impose a debate on national identity to divert attention from economic problems. Meanwhile, supporters of the ban point to the example of eight other European Union countries that have already introduced partial or complete restrictions on wearing face veils in offices, schools, or public transport. Vox: 33, People's Party: 137, UPN: 1, Other parties (against): 1798 countries — in the European Union have already introduced bans on face veils

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