Spanish tourist hotspots consider total burka ban and £25,000 fines in 'national security' crackdown

Spanish tourist hotspots are weighing up a total ban on burkas and niqabs under a national security crackdown. The Balearic Islands - Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera - are looking into proposals to outlaw the traditional Islamic dress and issue fines of up to £25,000 to those caught wearing them repeatedly. The plans - drawn up by Spain's right-wing Vox and the People's Party of the Balearic Islands (PP) - are currently being considered by the Balearic Parliament. However, the Bill has faced opposition from PSIB, MES per Mallorca, MES per Menorca, and Unidas Podemos in the legislature. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Vox has also tabled a motion to punish those who force or coerce women to wear niqabs and burkas with up to four years in prison. Manuela Canadas, one of the party's MPs, insisted that the normalisation of the strict Islamic coverings means accepting a medieval regression in the 21st century.She added that protecting Spanish culture from practices that denigrate women should be treated as a priority. Ms Canadas said: The veil is a tool for erasing personality, designed to obliterate a woman's civil existenceThe Vox MP also blasted left-wing opponents to the proposals, branding them hypocrites and fake feminists. Meanwhile, PP's deputy leader Cristina Gill said her party has been saying for many years that the burka and niqab violate women's dignity.She slammed left-wing MPs for denying women's right to exist by attempting to block outlawing a practice that renders women invisible. This is their kind of progressivism, for women who are fully veiled. They want to keep them hidden, Ms Gill added. SPAIN - READ THE LATEST:Pope Leo showers Spain with praise after country hands 500,000 migrants legal statusBritons to be targeted with DRONES in holiday hotspot as police launch crackdown on sunbed reserversHundreds evacuated as huge fire breaks out at tourist hotel in British-favourite holiday hotspotThe PP deputy leader also insisted the Islamic dress presents a risk to security, noting that the European Court of Human Rights has previously ruled that face coverings could be limited in public spaces on these grounds. However, the left-wing parties in the Balearic Parliament have slammed the proposals as racist.PSIB deputy leader Teresa Suárez said the law was not intending to bolster women's rights, but an obsessive idea of a supposed cultural threat.She added: It uses the burka to talk about the incompatibility of Islam with our society.More than 20 countries across the globe have banned the burka and other full-face coverings from public spaces - inlcuding Turkey, Tunisia and Sri Lanka. In 2011, France became the first European country to introduce a blanket ban on the burka in public. In Italy, regional authorities have imposed their own prohibitions, with Lombardy banning those with full-face coverings from entering hospitals and public buildings. The European Court of Human Rights has previously ruled that the Islamic garments could be restricted to protect communities living together within a society. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter