BARCELONA: The Spanish city of Lleida on Friday approved a ban on full-face coverings in most public spacesinarare steptargeting the Muslim burqa and nigab in the country.
Unlike European neighbours such as France, Portugal or Belgium, Spain has no national legislation banning or restricting the use of the garments worn by some Muslim women.
A provincial capital of around 150,000 people in the northeastern region of Catalonia, around 150 kilometres west of Barcelona, Lleida banned full-face veils in some public spaces in 2010, in a first for Spain.
But the Spanish Supreme Court nullified the meas-ure in 2013 following a long legal challenge by a Muslim association.
The court ruled that the ban infringed on religious freedom and transgressed the powers of a local authority, also cancelling similar measures adopted in other municipalities.
A meeting of Lleida’s city parliament on Friday voted 16-11 to modify a municipal law that was drawn up with the aim of avoiding similar legal pitfalls. The measure includes a ban on ‘remaining in or moving through public spaces with items or elements that totally cover the face’, without explicitly mentioning the burqa or the nigab.-AFP