Portugal’s parliament (Assembleia da República) on Friday approved, in a preliminary vote, a bill introduced by the far-right Chega party that seeks to ban “face coverings in public places,” a measure widely seen as targeting the wearing of the niqab by Muslim women.
The legislation, proposed by Chega — which emerged as Portugal’s second-largest political force in the May legislative elections — passed its initial vote with 60 votes from Chega members and additional support from the center-right governing…
