Portugal enacts 'burqa law' banning face coverings in public space

Portugal's President António Jose Seguro has enacted a law banning face coverings in public spaces, a measure widely seen as targeting Muslim women who wear full-face veils.

"The face must be considered a central element of human identity and communication," Seguro said in a statement late Tuesday.

The legislation, dubbed the "burqa law" by local media, was approved by parliament in July with the support of the governing right-wing coalition and far-right parties. Left-wing parties voted against it.

The law prohibits clothing designed to conceal the face or prevent identification in public spaces. It also bans forcing someone to cover their face for reasons related to gender, religion, age or origin.

Seguro acknowledged that the issue was one of "great social and cultural sensitivity".

Left-wing parties warn of Islamophobia risks and question security justification

The bill put forward by the far-right Chega party received negative opinions from the Portuguese Bar Association, the High Council of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Portuguese Association of Women Lawyers, alongside concerns over its potential unconstitutionality.

The centre-left Socialist Party (PS), green-left Livre and the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) opposed the proposal, warning it could fuel Islamophobia. It was backed by the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD).

The PS denounced "Islamophobic purpose that was evident in the explanatory memorandum [of the bill], the context of radicalism in which we live and the risks this creates for the communities directly targeted."

The PCP said the proposal had "nothing to do with women's rights, nor with security issues", but was "solely about fuelling hate speech and violence against those who are different, fuelling racist and xenophobic discourse."

Livre accused the right of "hypocrisy" and of conducting the debate in a "biased manner", in an attempt to create in Portugal "a moral panic over a supposed Islamic invasion that the far right so often talks about."