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The city council of Lleida in northeastern Spain has approved an ordinance banning clothing that completely covers the face in public spaces, effectively prohibiting the wearing of burqas and niqabs.
The ordinance, approved on Friday, provides for fines ranging from €400 to €750 for violations. It does not explicitly name the burqa or niqab but refers to clothing or other items that conceal the face completely.
The ban was approved with the support of the ruling PSC-Units, Junts and Vox, while the PP, ERC and Comú voted against it.
The restrictions will not apply in places of worship or in situations where covering the face is customary, or where it is done in the exercise of a fundamental right.
Lleida had previously attempted to impose a similar restriction. In 2013, Spain’s Supreme Court annulled the city’s earlier ordinance, ruling that a municipality could not restrict a fundamental right such as religious freedom.
Spain currently has no nationwide law banning the burqa or niqab in public spaces, although the issue is being debated at the national level.
The new Lleida ordinance could therefore face legal scrutiny over its compatibility with Spain’s constitutional protections.
