In the News: Canton of Geneva Bans Religious Symbols

Geneva votes to ban religious symbols on public employees, Agence France-Presse, The Local (Switzerland), 2019-02-11.

Geneva residents on Sunday voted for a controversial new “secularism law”, which will among other things ban elected officials and public employees from wearing visible religious symbols. More than 55 percent of voters in the Swiss canton backed the law, final results showed,[…]

Teachers in Geneva are already banned from wearing visible religious symbols, including the hijab. The new text would extend this ban to elected officials and any local or cantonal public employees who comes in contact with the public.

Excellent news. We need similar legislation here in Quebec and Canada. In fact, all jurisdictions should apply a similar ban for all public servants while on duty, so that they display no partisan symbols other than symbols of the state which they represent.

See also:

• Laws Restricting Face-Coverings and Religious Symbols