By Susana Samhan
Lisbon (EFE).- Two Muslim women in Portugal who wear the hijab have spoken out against a proposed ban on the burka, warning that it threatens women’s freedom to choose their attire and could mark a broader step back for civil liberties.
The initiative, introduced by the far-right Chega party, cleared its first parliamentary vote last week.
Zohra Lodhia, 31, and Sarika Karim, 45, both Portuguese citizens of Mozambican descent, founded Alma Portuguesa Fé Islâmica (Portuguese Soul, Islamic Faith), a group created this year to challenge stereotypes about Muslim women in the country.
They say the proposed legislation, which seeks to ban covering one’s face in public spaces, with few exceptions, unfairly targets a small minority.
According to Muslim tradition, women wear various types of Islamic headscarf. The hijab is the traditional headscarf that covers the hair, neck and ears while leaving the face visible, the niqab is a face veil that leaves the eyes uncovered, while the burka is a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, leaving only a small mesh screen through which to see.
“I’ll be very frank, I’ve personally never seen anyone wearing a burka in Portugal,” Lodhia, a doctoral student in biology at the University of Lisbon, told EFE. “We know a few women who wear the niqab, and they’re very worried because they don’t want to break the law if it passes.”
Lodhia argues that the proposed ban undermines personal liberty: “These women are now feeling oppressed, not by their religion, but by the state. What we defend is freedom of choice, especially for women, and his law takes that away.”
The Portuguese Parliament voted in favor of the proposal’s first reading last week. It must still undergo committee review and a final vote before becoming law.
“Today it’s the burka, tomorrow what?”
For Lodhia, who has worn a headscarf since she attended an Islamic school nearly two decades ago, the issue goes beyond religion.
“A precedent is being set,” she said. “It’s a step backwards for everyone’s freedom. Today it’s Muslim women, but tomorrow, who knows who will be next?”
Her friend Karim, who manages elderly care homes in Lisbon, began wearing the hijab two years ago after deciding she was ready.
“It was a personal decision,” she said. “I told my husband and parents that I would start wearing it. There was no pressure at all.”
Both women stress that most Muslim women in Portugal freely decide what to wear.
“Of course, there might be families where men impose rules,” Karim acknowledged. “But the women we know who wear the niqab do it because they choose to. It’s their expression of faith.”
For Lodhia and Karim, the danger lies in normalization. “We’re Portuguese,” Lodhia said. “We work, we study, we raise our children here. We just want the right to live our faith freely, like anyone else.”
Defending the right to choose
Karim says she now feels more visible in public, and sometimes mistaken for a tourist, due to the relatively small size of Portugal’s Muslim community.
Despite that, she insists her hijab symbolizes autonomy, not oppression. “There’s a very persistent myth that Muslim women are oppressed,” she said. “We’re not. We’re proud of who we are.”
The proposed legislation has reignited debate over religious freedom in Portugal, a country where less than 0.5% of the population is Muslim.
Chega, which has gained popularity in recent years with its anti-immigration rhetoric, claims the ban would protect national security and social cohesion.
However, human rights advocates argue that such restrictions stigmatize minorities and echo similar bans in other European countries, including France and Belgium.
The Council of Europe has previously warned that blanket bans on religious attire risk violating fundamental freedoms.
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