Portugal, long admired for its tolerance and moderate social fabric, has taken a shocking and regressive turn. The country’s parliament has recently approved a bill proposed by the far-right Chega party to ban face veils such as the burqa and niqab in most public spaces. The bill, still awaiting constitutional review, introduces draconian fines ranging from €200 to €4,000 (approximately 234–4,670 or PKR 65,950–1,319,000).

This proposed punishment is not merely excessive. It is a deliberate act of religious discrimination disguised as social reform. While it purports to “protect women’s rights” and “preserve national identity,” its true purpose is to marginalise Muslim women who wear the veil as part of their faith and Shariah-based modesty. If enacted, Portugal would join the ranks of France, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland—all of which have enforced full or partial bans on face coverings. Yet, Portugal’s proposed penalty would be the harshest in Europe, symbolising not equality but exclusion.

Portugal’s Fine Is the Harshest in Europe

Across Europe, similar bans exist but with far lighter punishments. France and Austria both impose fines of €150, Belgium offers a fine or up to seven days in prison, and the Netherlands restricts face coverings in specific public areas with penalties of up to €150. Even Switzerland, which introduced its own ban in January 2025, limits fines to 1,000 Swiss francs (around $1,144).

In contrast, Portugal’s upper penalty of €4,000 is nearly 27 times higher than France’s. Such disparity exposes the underlying intent. This is not about gender equality; it is about silencing visible expressions of Islam. The Bill is undermining the rights of Muslim women, but it is also criminalizing the symbol of their piety and purity.

Economic Injustice Fining Faith Beyond Affordability

If it may seem to some that my draft of this rather harsh recommendation is not motivated by the general economic crisis in Portugal, they may yet consider the economics of it. The national minimum wage is around €870 per month, roughly €29 per day, while the average monthly salary stands at €1,777.

For a Muslim woman—possibly an immigrant, cleaner, or shop assistant—wearing a niqab as a matter of conscience, the €200 fine equals nearly a week’s wages, while €4,000 would amount to four to five months of income.

This is not law—it is economic persecution. It coerces the devout poor into abandoning their faith or facing financial ruin. The veil ban does not liberate women; it punishes them for existing as believers. It is coercion dressed as liberalism, economic violence framed as ‘equality’.

The Political Motive Behind the Bill

Chega’s leader, André Ventura, justified the bill by claiming: “We are today protecting female members of parliament, your daughters, our daughters, from having to use burqas in this country one day.”

This statement reeks of fearmongering rather than genuine concern.In Europe, populists are ruling by political trickery, where anti-Islam feeling is evoking the economic exploitation of Muslims.

Indeed, this mirrors the strategy of Narendra Modi in India, who often focuses on Muslim visibility instead of solving deep-rooted social and economic problems. The far-right across the world has mastered the art of blaming minorities to hide systemic failures. And Portugal, regrettably, seems to be following that playbook.

The Hypocrisy of ‘Women’s Rights’

Supporters, including Andreia Neto of the ruling Social Democratic Party, describe the measure as a step toward “gender equality.” Yet, such logic collapses under scrutiny. True equality gives women freedom of choice; this bill strips it away.

For countless Muslim women, the veil is not oppression—it is autonomy. Stripping Muslim women of dignity, character, and honor under the guise of ‘liberal values’ is false freedom in practice. Basically, this is the Western sort of discriminating trick that neither freedom nor feminism, but oppression. That is being shown as the progress of cultural imperialism but is in fact degradation.

Religious Freedom or Selective Freedom?

The law’s contradictions expose its hypocrisy. Veils would be allowed in airplanes, diplomatic missions, and places of worship, yet banned in public streets or government buildings. How can a woman be allowed to pray in a niqab but not walk home in it? This fragmented policy divides faith from daily life, as if religion must remain hidden to be tolerated.

Such a policy directly violates Portugal’s constitutional protections of religious freedom and international human rights treaties. Instead of promoting harmony, it will deepen divisions, incite prejudice, and alienate an already small and vulnerable Muslim community.

Islamophobia Masquerading as Modernity

Portugal’s move follows a growing European trend: repackaging Islamophobia as “modernisation” or “security.” Yet, by all estimates, Muslim women who wear face veils in Portugal are exceedingly rare. The problem does not exist—but inventing it serves political gain.

By fabricating a “Muslim threat,” the far-right Chega party distracts voters from the nation’s actual crises. As with Modi’s India, symbolic battles replace real reform. Instead of addressing corruption, inflation, and social collapse, populists choose the easiest target—a woman in a veil.

On the one hand, the genocide of Muslims continues unabated in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Palestine—regions where Muslim lives are lost daily while weapons continue to be sold to the West. Across these lands, the Muslim identity is under siege. Even wealthy Muslim nations remain largely silent, while ordinary believers suffer displacement, hunger, and humiliation.

Switzerland’s ban came quietly on December 31st, as the world celebrated the New Year—an act symbolic of Europe’s moral contradiction: celebrating “freedom” while suppressing faith. And now, Portugal follows suit. The message is unmistakable—Muslims may live here, work here, even invest their wealth here, but they will never truly belong.

It is designed to make Muslims feel foreign even after decades of contribution. And if Portugal’s population is declining, if birth rates are falling, how can the modesty of Muslim women be to blame? Punishing them for maintaining family and faith only exposes Europe’s deep-seated discomfort with its own demographic decline.

The Real Problems Portugal Ignores

While politicians waste energy policing how Muslim women dress, Portugal faces interconnected national crises that threaten its stability far more than any piece of fabric ever could.

Environmental and Security Challenges in States.

Environmental risks are on the rise, from coastal erosion and forest fires to poor waste management. Meanwhile, the social safety net remains a patchwork-an oral history which is confounding and ill-directed and does not keep poverty at bay much.

These are the real crises for which political courage and policy innovation are required. The far-right demagogues fixate on the burqa in order to detract from ongoing corruption, stagnant economies, and failures of governance.

A Moral Test for Europe

Europe is losing its identity. Its legacy of conscience, freedom, and pluralism is fading. The same continent that defends the right to express atheism or sexuality now persecutes religious modesty.

Portugal’s proposed fines pose a moral question:

Can a democracy that fines faith still claim to defend freedom?

To criminalise a woman’s attire is to criminalise her belief. It is to punish piety and commodify conscience.

Conclusion — Faith Must Not Be Fined

Portugal stands at a crossroads. If President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa upholds constitutional justice, he must veto this discriminatory bill or send it for judicial review. Approving it would mark Portugal as one of Europe’s least tolerant democracies.

For Muslims worldwide, this is not a debate about clothing—it is about dignity, visibility, and freedom of belief. Modesty is not a crime. Faith must never be fined.

Instead of policing veils, Portugal’s leaders should confront the real problems: a collapsing housing market, political corruption, failing public services, and social inequality. Focusing on Muslim women’s attire is not reform; it is deflection. It is an old, cynical strategy used by populists like Modi: blame the minority, hide the failure, and call it patriotism.

But history is unforgiving to nations that mistake prejudice for progress.

The post Portugal’s Fight over the Muslim Veil first appeared on Dissident Voice.

This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.