The plenary session of the Congress of Deputies approved this Thursday the creation of a subcommittee to study the use of the burka and the niqab in public spaces. It will serve to analyze, with the support of experts, the constitutional framework and applicable jurisprudence to regulate the use of these garments, and whether a ban violates other rights such as religious and ideological freedom or the principle of equality and non-discrimination. This proposal, from the PNV, was supported by PP, Vox, Junts, and PSOE, with 285 votes in favor, 14 abstentions from ERC and EH Bildu, and 31 votes against from Sumar and Podemos.
The Basque nationalists promoted the initiative in the Constitutional Commission, where it was approved last April 29 to later be voted on in the plenary session this Thursday. The name refers to the “use of garments that completely cover the face, such as the full female veil” and will study the “consequences” of their use “in public spaces and establishments.” After the vote, four parliamentary groups requested to speak to explain the meaning of their vote.
The interventions lasted barely 11 minutes in total, as the debate was to focus on the creation of the commission and not on the use of the burka itself. The first to speak was the Sumar parliamentarian Viviane Ogou, who justified her rejection: “It is not this Chamber that has to decide on this and the prohibition should not be debated. This is a far-right strategy to polarize,” she explained. Ada Santana, socialist deputy, positioned herself against the use of the veil as “an exclusively religious and moral imposition applied only to women,” but supported the creation of the subcommittee to assess the balance between banning the veil and allowing women “to decide about their own lives.”
The Vox parliamentarian Blanca Armario stated that these garments are a “symbol of the submission of women incompatible with Western culture and a risk to public safety.” Furthermore, she recalled that her party had already presented two proposals together with Junts on the burka ban, but both were rejected. The rest of the groups, which did not support these rules, explained at that time that the complexity of the matter deserved a more thorough study. “There should be a calm, serene, and reasonable debate,” explained the socialist spokesperson Patxi López at a press conference in February. This is why they supported today the formation of the subcommittee to study possible legislation.
The situation in the plenary session this Thursday became tense when the PP parliamentarian Patricia Rodríguez intervened, who was the last speaker of the session. First, the popular deputy criticized that the PSOE “turned a blind eye” by rejecting the ban on the veil. After this, she addressed the Bildu deputies to reproach their position: “I wonder if it is because you feel comfortable with your face covered, you know, with balaclavas with chapela,” she said. The deputies from the left-wing parties stood up from their seats in response to that comment and prepared to leave the plenary before Rodríguez finished speaking, as it was the last intervention of the day. “Leave the chamber,” she snapped at them while receiving applause from a popular bench that stood up.
Read more Israel bombs Beirut as it triggers a new exodus in Lebanon
