This story aired on a current affairs program last night. It talks about France's possible ban on the burqa and niqab - clothing which is designed to cover the wearer's face. This is a very contentious issue so I liked the programs approach of interviewing a Muslim woman who chooses to wear the burqa. She, and others like her, will be the ones who have their rights infringed if this new law is passed.
Banning the burqa has been done before in certain public buildings in both Egypt and Turkey but France and Belgium are going further in implementing a ban in all public places. The burqa itself is like a mobile prison that traps the woman and prevents her from properly interacting with the rest of society. It is a symbol of female submission and is often forced upon wives by their controlling husbands. I can see why many people, including many Muslims, come down on the side of a ban.
On the other hand, banning a form of clothing seems like a fairly big imposition on personal freedom. In modern Western civilisations wives are free to leave their controlling husbands at any time. Perhaps more focus needs to go on promoting women's shelters and prosecuting domestic violence incidences. Another argument that could be made is that by banning the burqa, these women won't even go outside and will become even more isolated from society. This result is the opposite of the intended goal.
As much as I sympathise with Muslim women's rights groups and Islamic religious leaders who want to see and end to this Saudi and Talibani practice the way to deal with the problem in a free civilisation that values both equality and liberty is not through a restrictive ban. Empowering these women through education and example will allow them to choose liberty for themselves. Our laws should support them when they decide to make that choice, not force that choice upon them.
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