…Muslim councillor ‘forced to sit out council meeting

In an early test for Geneva’s new secularism law, a Muslim councillor on Tuesday chose to sit in the public gallery during a recent council meeting rather than remove her headscarf so she could take part in the session. The move by Sabine Tiguemounine, a councillor with the Greens for the Geneva municipality of Meyrin, […]

In an early test for Geneva’s new secularism law, a Muslim councillor on Tuesday chose to sit in the public gallery during a recent council meeting rather than remove her headscarf so she could take part in the session.

The move by Sabine Tiguemounine, a councillor with the Greens for the Geneva municipality of Meyrin, came just days after Geneva’s new cantonal secularism law came into force on March 9th.

Under the new law, elected representatives are banned from displaying religious symbols including headscarves during plenary sessions or during other official acts when they are in public view.

But as Geneva daily Tribune de Genève reported, Tiguemounine chose not to remove her headscarf for Tuesday’s council meeting which meant she could not vote during the session.