“Don't Throw Burkas In Our Eyes” Demonstration Against Niqab And Burqa Ban In Portugal

LISBON, PORTUGAL - OCTOBER 25: Niqab clad women in Rossio square during “Don't Throw Burkas In Our Eyes” demonstration against niqab and burqa ban In Portugal on October 25, 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal. “Don't throw burkas in our eyes” demonstration protests against social, economic, and political injustices, and a distraction created by the bill that bans burkas, “used to hide social injustices,” for the right to housing for all, for the reduction of income tax for workers, for an end to non-essential night work, without loss of pay, in denunciation of sexual and political violence, especially against women, for investment in public services such as health and education, for the reduction of working hours while maintaining wages, and in defense of the right to strike, among other things. Portuguese Parliament parliament has approved a bill banning face veils worn for “gender or religious” reasons in public, a measure proposed by the far-right Chega party seen as targeting Muslim women who cover their face. Burqas and niqabs would be prohibited from being worn in most public places Face veils would still be allowed in airplanes, diplomatic premises and places of worship. The bill has been justified in the name of “security” and “women's freedom,” but it is contested by the members of the Muslim community, pointing out that “very few women in Portugal cover their faces.” (Photo by Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)