GENEVA (AP) - Switzerland’s justice minister said Tuesday that her country could ban full-body Muslim veils in the future, as neighboring France is currently debating.

Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said seeing a woman in a burqa makes her uncomfortable, even though the head-to-toe outfits are rarely worn in Switzerland.

"If the number of women wearing a burqa increases, we could study a possible ban," said Widmer-Schlumpf, 53, at a news conference to which she wore a short skirt and black leather boots.

But she said the veils weren’t currently on the government’s agenda.

In neighboring France, President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out against the burqa, and a parliamentary commission is holding six months of hearings that could lay the groundwork for banning the veils in public.

A number of French politicians believe the garb is an affront to women’s rights and the French commitment to equality. It is worn by a minority of the 5 million Muslims in France.

Switzerland is holding a national referendum Nov. 29 on whether to ban the construction of minarets. Widmer-Schlumpf opposes the proposal, along with the rest of Switzerland’s seven-member Cabinet.

A ban on the minarets, sometimes used for calling Muslims to prayer, would be discriminatory and violate Swiss laws on freedom of religion, Widmer-Schlumpf said.