The Europeans | European news, politics and culture Headscarves & Eurovision
Pretty much everyone has their face covered in public these days, and yet Switzerland is set to become the latest European country to ban (non-Covid) face coverings in public — including Muslim garments like the niqab and burqa. Given that barely any Swiss women wear these, what exactly is going on here? This week we speak to Inès El-Shikh of the Foulards Violets feminist group about what this referendum campaign has felt like for Muslim women.
Also this week: Eurovision! We've been scrutinising the rather threatening lyrics of the Belarusian band kicked out for being too political. Plus, an ancient Roman coffee table and France's reckoning with the past.
This week's Isolation Inspiration: White Rabbit Red Rabbit; And Then We Danced; and Are We Europe's delightful recipe cards, a perk of their awesome membership programme.
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Producer: Katz Laszlo
Assistant producers: Priyanka Shankar and Andrei Popoviciu