Woman wearing veil on poster for Ripoll's town festival censored 

In the northern town of Ripoll, a poster for the town's 'Festa Major' has been censored by the city council because it pictured a girl wearing a veil. 

Mayor Sílvia Orriols, from the far-right party Alliança Catalana (AC) announced the news through social media. 

She says the illustrator refused to take out the girl in the veil, resulting in the city council having to disqualify the poster because they "don't want to normalize Islamic misogyny." 

10 posters, voted by inhabitants of Ripoll, were presented to a jury. They picked out the poster that has now been censored. 

The poster depicts various people in a cartoon-ish style, the girl with a veil could be seen on the bottom of the drawing. 

Opposing parties have demanded rectification for the poster, calling the decision censorship. 

"This is the democratic level we have in Ripoll, censorship is dictatorship," the Socialists' spokesperson in Ripoll, Enric Pérez, said in a tweet. 

Artist 'in shock' 

The illustrator behind the poster, Ivonne Navarro, was "in shock" at being told to amend her work. 

"I feel powerless and angry because censorship is still happening today," she told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) on Wednesday. 

One of the most shocking moments, Navarro said, was when the mayor herself, Sílvia Orriols, called her to explain that she had to change or remove the figure in question. 

"I said no, and that they should choose another poster," she said. 

According to the artist, the drawing represents the diversity of Ripoll and invokes the "inclusive intentions" of the festa major. 

It is the first time that one of her designs has been censored, she said. 

Navarro also posted a statement on Instagram, saying that "making modifications for ideological reasons has a name, and it is censorship!"  

"I also say that underneath this supposedly feminist discourse lies racism."

 

Alliança Catalana 

Alliança Catalana, led by Sìlvia Orriols, is a Catalan far right pro-independence party, founded in 2020 in Ripoll by Orriols.  

AC became the most voted party in Ripoll during the local elections in May 2023. Orriols became the mayor a month later. 

After being appointed as mayor, Orriols said that "Ripoll will not have a far-right government." 

She said that those who voted for her are "exhausted of seeing privileges and favor deals to those who call for killing unbelievers, tired of seeing on the streets more women covering their heads than those with their hair in the wind." 

Orriols confirmed in March 2024 that Alliança Catalana would be represented in the 2024 Catalan regional elections with herself as the lead candidate.