Vox drags the PP into its crusade against the burka and they are calling for its ban in the Catalan Parliament

PalmVox failed to secure the PP's support for its non-binding resolution calling for a ban on all types of Islamic veils. However, it did succeed in persuading its coalition partner to adopt its position. The PP ultimately presented an alternative text to the far-right's proposal, limiting its scope and calling only for a ban on full-face veils: the burka and the niqab. Although the text lacks legal standing and therefore will have no practical impact, it serves to highlight the parties' stance on the issue, in a context of rising anti-immigration rhetoric from the right.

The PP's non-binding resolution, which passed with Vox's support, calls for Parliament to declare that "the full-face Islamic veil constitutes a form of oppression and subjugation that violates fundamental rights, equality, and the dignity of women" and demands legislative reforms from the Spanish government and the European Union. It also emphasizes that "forced marriages and female genital mutilation are practices contrary to the fundamental values ​​of our society" and must be prosecuted and punished, and urges the House to demand harsher penalties for these practices.

"Could they relate on equal terms with a woman wearing a burka? Obviously not," argued PP deputy Cristina Gil. "Will we tolerate the discrimination of a woman trapped in a prison of cloth? I hope not," she insisted, and stressed that "the full-face veil makes women invisible and annihilates them." "A woman should not have to cover herself to be dignified," she said.

Vox's deputy spokesperson, Sergio Rodríguez, celebrated the approval of the "non-binding resolution from Vox, conveniently watered down by the PP," and argued that it aims to guarantee the "dignity of human beings and women." The representative of the party, which denies gender-based violence, insisted that this was the "fundamental" motivation behind the document. In this regard, he sought to sideline left-wing parties, questioning their commitment to feminism for not joining the initiative. "I can't understand why we have to say this to you, who are supposed to defend feminism," he retorted.

"There's a difference of 15 gin and tonics between the PP and Vox."

The spokesperson for MÁS per Mallorca, Lluís Apesteguia, responded to these criticisms by accusing the right wing of fueling Islamophobia and competing to "gain electoral advantage." Proof of this, he argued, is that no amendments from any other party to the text were accepted. Apesteguia rejected the notion that the PP's proposal has "a different political perspective" from Vox's. "Between their proposal and Vox's, there isn't a different political perspective, but rather a difference of fifteen gin and tonics," he retorted. "They are a cheap copy of Vox, and between the copy and the original, people will buy the original." PSIB deputy Teresa Suárez accused the PP of "embracing and normalizing the hate speech of the far right" and deemed the non-binding resolution "Islamophobic." For his part, Unides Podem deputy José María García opined that "this decision cannot be made without taking Muslim women into account." "It has no intention of liberating women, but rather of attacking a religion," she said regarding the non-binding resolution.