Collboni, open to regulating the burqa

BarcelonaThe debate over banning the full-face veil returned to Barcelona City Hall this Wednesday. It was brought up by Mayor Jaume Collboni, who, in an interview on the program... Coffee of Ideas The mayor of Barcelona, ​​from RTVE, has indicated that the use of the burka in public spaces should be regulated. "It's a debate that must be addressed," he said, but clarified that simply prohibiting it "wouldn't achieve the objective" of allowing women to freely choose how they want to dress. Collboni considers this garment a way of "denying women's identity."

The words of the mayor of the Catalan capital come after several days in which the debate surrounding the regulation of this type of clothing has resurfaced and align with the positions adopted in recent hours by other Socialist leaders. This Tuesday, however, the PSOE agreed to "open a debate" that must be "calm and serene" with Junts to study the proposal for regulating the burka that this party presented as a counterpoint to the debate promoted by Vox in Congress.

However, the Socialists warned that a ban on the full-face veil cannot, in practice, lead to the exclusion of these women from public spaces. Along similar lines, the spokesperson for the Catalan government, Sílvia Paneque, admitted that this is a debate that must begin because the burka generates "negativity" within Catalan society. Paneque added that it is necessary to study it from the perspective of "security" and from its nature "as an element of identity that can create conflict between people."

Just as it did this Tuesday in Congress, Vox presented a proposal this Wednesday in the Barcelona City Council to prohibit the use of the burka and niqab in municipal facilities. As in the case of the lower house, the far-right's proposal failed in the City Council and only received the support of the People's Party (PP). Together, the PSC, Barcelona en Comú, and Esquerra voted against the measure. The debate provided an opportunity to hear the opinion of the city council's second deputy mayor, Maria Eugenia Gay, who, unlike the mayor, remained neutral on whether or not regulating the use of the burka is necessary. However, she did express significant reservations about how such regulation could be implemented. She ruled out the city council taking the lead, stating that regulations of this kind can only be enacted by the Generalitat (the Catalan government) or the national government. The voice of women

Gay also emphasized that religious freedom is a fundamental right that cannot be restricted by a "circumstantial political will," and highlighted that the Constitution protects religious belief both in its private sphere and in its public manifestation, which includes symbols, practices, and clothing. Furthermore, she warned that this regulation affects "a very specific group of women" and that there is a risk of stigmatizing them. "These are women with their own voice, who think, decide, and deserve to be heard. This debate belongs to them. We cannot replace them or speak on their behalf," the second lieutenant argued. She added that women's freedom "is not guaranteed by expelling them from public spaces or limiting their access to municipal spaces." "I find it absolutely outrageous," she concluded.