Sa Pobla council wants to ban the burkha

Explaining that 25 percent of the community of Sa Pobla are immigrants, Serra said that the law only applied to public places and was not intended to be a restriction on what people chose to wear in their own homes.

Items of clothing or protection which will be banned in public in Sa Pobla are types of clothing worn most frequently by women of the Islamic faith, particularly the burkha which entirely covers the face and body, but also the Nnqab which is also a full body dress but which leaves a slit for the eyes. The traditional Muslim headscarf, the yihab, however,will not be censured.

But it's not just women who will be subject to changes. Men will not be permitted to wear balaclava helmets or any other form of headgear that masks the face.

Integration
The Mayor said that the proposal was to be debated at a full plenary session of the Council to be held on Monday.
But even at this stage, Serra wanted to make it clear that “in Sa Pobla we have always been very welcoming to people from other lands who want to come and live and work here. But integration must be based on education and the acceptance of values of this land, of Majorcan society.” He said there was another aspect to the proposed bylaw modification and that is citizen safety. Serra wants to see the full force of the law applied to stop people hiding their identity or having anything about their person which could in any way pose a public threat. The Mayor wants these measures imposed as extensively as possible in public life.

As an example, he said that people will not be permitted to enter schools and colleges with their faces veiled; neither will people be able to attend health centres and hospitals if they are clandestinely clad.

But Serra said that if the modifications are passed, there are plans to extend the ban to more commonly used areas of the community such as market places and public squares.

There will be exceptions to the rule, said Serra. He explained that in circumstances when people had to completely cover their faces and bodies for reasons of hygiene or safety, the ban will not apply.

He said that after the bylaw is passed, if people ignore it and try to gain access to public places with their faces hidden by clothing or helmets, then authorities are entitled to call the Police to prevent them from passing.

Those who take no heed of the ban, said the Mayor, will also be denounced under the law.