A small town in southern Spain on Monday became the latest municipality in the country to ban the use of the face-covering Islamic veil in public buildings.
The municipal council in Coin, a town of some 21,000 inhabitants in the Andalucia region near the city of Malaga, approved the measure by a large majority. The ban will be imposed in all public buildings, including schools and sports centres, but not in the rest of the town.
In recent weeks several municipalities in the northeastern region of Catalonia, including the city of Barcelona, have announced bans on the use of face-covering Islamic veils in public or are considering doing so.
Spain’s upper house of parliament last week also approved a motion calling on Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s socialist government to ban the use of the Islamic veil in public.
Earlier this month Justice Minister Francisco Caamano said the government planned to restrict the use of veils in public places under a proposed new law on religious freedom.