Portugal bans full-face veils under 'burqa law' to protect 'central element of human identity'

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 05:49 EDT, 19 August 2026 | Updated: 05:51 EDT, 19 August 2026 Portugal has banned the use of full-face veils under a so-called 'burqa law' that the government says will protect 'human identity.'The country's president enacted the law pushed by the far right banning the concealment of faces in public, a measure that has been widely seen as targeting Muslim women wearing a full-face veil.'The face must be considered a central element of human identity and communication,' President Antonio Jose Seguro said in a statement on Tuesday.The final version of the text - described by local media as the 'burqa law' after the garment worn by some Muslim women to cover their bodies and faces - was adopted by parliament in July with votes from the right-wing governing coalition and the far right, while left-wing parties voted against it.The law prohibits the wearing of garments designed to conceal the face or prevent identification in public spaces, as well as any coercion forcing a person to cover their face for reasons related to gender, religion, age or origin.Rights campaigners have long pointed out that such bans also effectively erode women's rights by telling them what to wear.Seguro acknowledged that the issue was one of 'great social and cultural sensitivity'.In Portugal, violators face fines ranging from 150 to 3,000 euros.Exemptions are provided for reasons such as health, professional, artistic or weather-related needs, as well as within places of worship, diplomatic missions and on aeroplanes. Portugal has banned the use of full-face veils under a so-called 'burqa law'. (File photo)This comes as the government in Spain's Balearic Islands said it was considering a total ban on burkas and niqabs. The bill was initially proposed by the right-wing Vox and the People's Party of the Balearic Islands (PP). At the same time, the opposing PSIB, MES per Mallorca, MES per Menorca, and Unidas Podemos parties have voted against it. Vox proposed a total ban and fines of up to £25,000 for those who repeatedly use them or impose their use on minors or women under guardianship.They have also suggested the punishment of prison sentences of up to four years for anyone who forces, intimidates or coerces a woman to wear the head covering, as well as expulsion from the national territory for foreigners who repeatedly commit the offence.Vox MP Manuela Canadas, who defended the initiative, argued that normalising the use of these garments 'means accepting a medieval regression in the 21st century'.She also defended the 'priority' of maintaining identity, culture, and customs, emphasising that Islamic practices that 'denigrate women' have no place in Spanish society.'The veil is a tool for erasing personality, designed to obliterate a woman's civil existence,' she said, adding that these garments represent 'submission and subjugation'.She also criticised left-wing groups that did not support the law, accusing them of being 'hypocrites and fake feminists'.Canadas added that the ban on the burka and niqab in public spaces 'is not an act of discrimination, but a measure of strict public order and national security'.PP deputy Cristina Gil echoed several of Vox's arguments, while stressing that the party has been 'saying for many years that the burka and niqab violate women's dignity'.Gil said that the proposed law 'does not affect religious freedom' but rather 'restricts a practice that renders women invisible'.The conservative politician also called out the left for 'denying women's right to exist'.'This is their kind of progressivism, for women who are fully veiled. They want to keep them hidden,' she asserted.