Casper

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has given his backing to the establishment of a parliamentary commission to look at whether to ban the wearing of burkas in public. Mr Sarkozy spoke out strongly against the wearing of the burka by Muslim women in France. In a major policy speech, he said the burka - a garment covering women from head to toe - reduced them to servitude and undermined their dignity.

France's official Muslim council has criticised the debate. "To raise the subject like this, via a parliamentary committee, is a way of stigmatising Islam and the Muslims of France," said Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the French Council for the Muslim Religion. France is home to about five million Muslims.




Maybe from an outsider's perspective, the burkha is a symbol of subservience, and also of the status of women as non-entities. It may even perhaps be more of a voluntary political statement than anything else. But should the government have the right to restrict what item of clothing a person can wear?

If the government restricts one item of clothing, it is only a small step to restrict many. The government shouldn’t be allowed to dictate what people wear. It would be yet further infringement of our civil liberties.

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Casper

It’s also disingenuous to suggest that Muslim women should be protected from the oppression of wearing the Burkha. The likelihood is that most of the women have chosen to wear the Burkha on the grounds of religion or even as a political gesture (not that this is necessarily a positive thing, but as someone who believes in freedom of expression I say it is their right to).

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Will

Most women may have chosen to wear them, but what about the ones that are forced to? This undoubtably goes on, I have seen several interviews where women confess to being forced to wear them. They also mention that some women are too fearful to even speak out against them. How accurate a picture this paints I really can't say.

It's worth pointing out there there are plenty of Muslim communities where the Burka isn't considered the norm. Pakistanies don't usually use them, only in places where the Taliban have forced women to wear it. When you see this kind of attitude, it does make you wonder if it's true that all Muslim women are forced to do it.

Really, it's probably a question of whether the Burka is an instrument of repression or not. If it really is and women would rather not wear it, then it certainly has no place in the UK. My personal opinion is that it IS an instrument of repression, as Muslim men don't have to wear one. If Muslim men had to wear the Burka too, I'd be quite happy to allow it. But since this will clearly never happen, I find myself in agreement with Mr. Sarkozy.

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Casper

Sure, I certainly won’t attempt to prove that most Muslim women who wear the Burkha have not been coerced into doing so. I do accept, despite lack of evidence, that a significant number of women have been forced into wearing this item of clothing.

However, I argue that it’s not the state’s business to therefore ban the Burkha. This is too indirect means of protection, because we then face the dilemma of criminalizing those that have genuinely chosen to wear the Burkha on their own accord.

The only business that the state ought to be concerned with is the protection of people from the threat of force. It is unnecessary to relinquish yet further virtues of Freedom of expression.

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poppy

I actually agree with Will on this one, I have many muslum friends, and the first thing they do when we get together away from their menfolk is remove all head coverings.
They hate the burkha with a vengeance.
I know only one girl who voluntarily wears the burkha, and she, although a great girl is ultra religious bordering on fanatical, and wears it as a statement.

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Casper

A statement of which is her prerogative to display, just like I believe in the BNP’s fundamental right to express their views.

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Will

But couldn't it be easily argued that the Burka forces women to relinquish their freedom of expression?

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Admin Will - Think for yourself, it hasn't been banned, yet.
"When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."
- Thomas Jefferson
Contact me.

Casper

Of course, but then you don’t counter that with a totalitarian law that says nobody is allowed to wear the Burkha. The problem is the force used, not the Burkha.

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skinny

So what do you suggest Casper?

25/75 in Wills favour in my opinion...the points that the burka isn't part of any religion, oppression, which you and Will have discussed, and the identification/security issue far out way the rights of "freedom of expression" in my eyes

Casper

Anecdotal evidence. Conversely, I predict that a significant percentage of women who wear the Burkha do actually want to.

Yet, the reason to wear the Burkha is a rather superfluous debate. It doesn’t matter whether they wear it as a negative political gesture or for genuine strict religious reasons.

The wearing of a Burkha itself is not harmful to anyone else; therefore the Government should not try to act like a Nanny and suggest it should be banned.

In your eyes, but your eyes are purely subjective-based which means others disagree just like to some people's arrogant eyes, the right to let the BNP express their views is outweighed by other factors. They too are wrong.

Why is your dislike of me wearing the Burkha more valid than my right to wear it?

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