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Date Published: 31/03/2026

Another Murcia town moves to restrict face coverings in public buildings

Molina de Segura joins a growing list of Spanish towns to ban burkas and niqabs

Molina de Segura has become the latest Spanish town to move towards restricting the wearing of face-coverings such as the burka and niqab in municipal buildings, after its local council voted in favour of two motions on the subject on Monday March 30.

The motions, put forward by the People's Party and Vox respectively, passed by 14 votes to 11. The PP's proposal calls on the Spanish government to introduce legislative changes limiting face coverings in public spaces and would allow councils to require facial visibility in municipal buildings for security and identity verification purposes.

Vox's motion goes a step further, proposing that access to municipal facilities be made conditional on faces being visible, with exceptions only for health or work-related reasons.

It's worth noting that without national legislation explicitly backing these kinds of measures, local councils have limited legal room to manoeuvre and could face challenges over potential violations of fundamental rights. A proposal to regulate face coverings at a national level was rejected in Congress back in February.

The vote in Molina de Segura follows a similar pattern emerging elsewhere in the Region of Murcia. Cartagena has already introduced restrictions, although the Regional Assembly of Murcia rejected a Vox motion earlier this month that would have imposed a blanket ban across all public spaces under regional jurisdiction, including schools, hospitals and sports facilities.

The assembly's rejection means individual councils are largely left to pursue their own approaches for now.

Molina Councillor for Social Welfare, Rocío Cózar, argued that the measures were grounded in principles of "dignity and equality," while first deputy mayor Antonio Martínez described them as a matter of "common sense" linked to security and public services.

Opposition councillors pushed back strongly, with PSOE spokesperson Isabel Gadea arguing that the issue was being used to "single out and stigmatise" part of the local population rather than address any genuine problem in the town.

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