The PSC opts for banning the burqa without sanctioning women: "They are victims"

Barcelona"It is a degrading fact". This is how blunt the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, was when asked about the burqa in his first interview after his medical leave. The head of the Catalan executive was positioning himself on a topic that Vox has introduced into the media agenda, and which gained traction when the PP announced it would support the ban in Congress. Junts distanced itself, but counterattacked with its own proposal in the same direction, something that ERC also began to study a few days later. And in the same way that Vox has placed the debate on the burqa in the spotlight in Congress, Aliança Catalana has brought it to Parliament. Who has not yet taken any steps forward is the PSC. What do the socialists think about this debate?

"We are completely against the burqa and the full veil. They are not religious or cultural symbols, they are a form of oppression of women", assure PSC sources consulted by ARA. To counter it, the Catalan socialists want to work with communities, following the experience of countries like France, to eradicate the presence of these veils "in public spaces and in private life". "We have to work on the ban", they emphasize. However, they draw a red line: it cannot be accompanied by sanctions against women, who are, above all, "victims".

This is a point where the socialists' position differs from that of Vox, which in its failed bill had proposed fining them. Junts advocates for introducing "deterrent" elements, while for ERC the key to regulation would not be to sanction women, but for them to participate in "social work". The PSC defends that the commitment to banning the burqa and niqab was a consensus position within the party, which has debated extensively how to position itself on religious practices that, as in this case, "violate fundamental rights". When the controversy broke out, the Government supported opening this debate "rigorously", but without following the theses of the far-right or anticipating a clear endorsement of the ban.

The precedent of Lleida

The former socialist mayor Àngel Ros was the one who, in Lleida, back in 2010, raised the need to combat the full veil in the city, also appealing to "women's dignity" – not for security reasons. He did so through an ordinance that was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court, which warned that only a law could prohibit the use of this garment. Up to twelve Catalan municipalities that had approved motions in the same vein had to take note of the ruling.

One of those municipalities was Santa Coloma de Gramenet, governed by the then mayor and now Minister of the Interior. Núria Parlon, one of the feminist leaders within the PSC, also supported Ros's position, which at the time did not have the unanimous support of the party. "It is not a matter of gender or religion, but of guaranteeing equality of people, building spaces where coexistence is possible from plurality and respect for individuals", she declared at the time.

The "intentionality" of the debate

The PSC's rejection of the burqa is now firm, but at the same time, the party regrets that a "false debate" has been generated about this garment that has no basis in reality: neither do most Muslim women wear it nor do most Muslim men demand that their wives wear it. "The parties that deny gender-based violence now say that they defend women's rights", socialist sources ironically state, arguing that Vox has sought to stir up this debate to target the Muslim community. Illa insisted along the same lines: "It is not an issue that I believe is the central concern of the citizens of Catalonia. I believe that the debate being raised has political intentionality", he stated.