Portugal joins Europe’s trend with public face veil ban

Portugal’s parliament has passed a controversial bill banning the wearing of face veils in public, a move widely viewed as targeting the burqa and niqab traditionally worn by some Muslim women. The proposal, introduced by the far-right Chega party, received support from the centre-right PSD, Liberal Initiative, and CDS-PP, while left-wing parties including the Socialist Party (PS), Livre, PCP, and Bloco de Esquerda opposed it. The legislation prohibits wearing clothing in public that conceals or obstructs the face, explicitly referencing garments such as the burqa, a full-body covering and the niqab, which leaves only the eyes visible. It also criminalizes forcing another person to hide their face for “gender or religious reasons.”

The bill includes several exemptions. Face coverings will remain permitted for health, professional, artistic, entertainment, or publicity purposes, and the restrictions do not apply on airplanes, in diplomatic or consular premises, or within places of worship and other sacred spaces. Covering the face for security, weather-related, or legally sanctioned reasons is likewise exempted. The bill now moves to the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees for review and possible amendments before returning to the plenary for a final vote. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa must still approve the measure, he can either sign it into law, veto it, or refer it to the Constitutional Court for evaluation.

If enacted, the ban will apply across all public areas, including streets, public buildings, transport hubs, sporting events, demonstrations, and spaces offering public services. Violations will be punishable by fines ranging from €200 to €2,000 for negligence and €400 to €4,000 for deliberate noncompliance. Those who force women to wear veils, such as family members, could also face legal consequences under existing laws on coercion or domestic abuse, potentially including fines or imprisonment. The airplane exemption exists because international flights are subject to aviation laws, and enforcing a national dress code would be impractical, with security and personal comfort also taken into account.

The law is therefore a partial ban, covering most public spaces but exempting specific contexts. Similar partial bans exist in countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and some regions of Spain, while France remains the only country with a full public ban. Historical examples show that bans do not necessarily help women who are pressured by families to cover; in France, for instance, many Muslim women reported feeling marginalized and unsafe after the full-face veil ban, and coercion often shifted to private spaces.

Though framed as protective, they often remove women’s autonomy and ignore their voices, as lawmakers, mostly men,decide what women should or should not wear. These policies politicize women’s clothing, dragging personal decisions into public debates, and risk stigmatizing those who continue wearing veils. True empowerment comes from education, awareness, and legal protections against coercion, not from bans. Women should be able to choose freely whether to wear a veil, with societal and family pressure addressed through legal protection, community engagement, support networks, and public awareness campaigns rather than top-down prohibitions.

The Portuguese bill may aim to protect women and enhance security, but history suggests that bans often fail to achieve these goals. Instead, efforts should focus on empowering women, respecting their choices, and combating coercion, ensuring that clothing remains a matter of personal freedom rather than a tool of political control.