Needless to say, the law has sparked a heated debate. Some say the law's main proponent, President Nicolas Sarkozy, is making much ado about very little, even pandering to the far right -- as only an estimated 2,000 women in France bother with the burqa or the niqab. Others welcome the move as a liberation from the oppression of sharia law. Then there are those, in this post-911 world we live in, who believe the flowing robes and covered face pose a security threat. And more than a few must have been surprised that a number of Muslim women protested the ban, asserting that it was their choice to don the voile intégrale (full veil).
France has long been struggling to come to terms with its growing Muslim population (the highest in Europe). But the question that must be addressed above all others is not whether or not one likes the burqa, but whether the state has the right to dictate what a woman wears.
I'm inclined to think not -- and you?
2 comments:
Mixed view.I don't really the the purpose of the ban is really because they are opposed to their religious beliefs or rights, rather that the person is unidentifiable when wearing this. should someone use this for a disguise in a crime, how could they ever be identified? Ideally, people should be able to wear what they want, but criminals have turned this into a security issue.
I am inclined to believe that it is an attempt to address an issue at the wrong end the same way that had Switzerland banning minarets. Rather than dealing with any root issue, they ban things at a superficial level. This only leads to resentment and cries of inequality. Flaming the very issues they are trying to address.
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