More European countries are moving toward making it illegal for Muslim women to wear burqas--full Islamic face veils--in public. For many of them, however, burqas are part of their culture. Forcing them to abandon them has been termed an act of “cultural warfare.” The bans can include hefty fines. Municipalities in some Belgian areas prohibit any full face covering, and violations can mean fines of over $30 and even a week in jail. Two dozen municipalities already ban their use. If Belgium’s parliament adopts a current bill, it would be the first European country to impose a nationwide ban.
France has begun its own steps toward a ban, with President Sarkozy claiming that “the burqa has no place there.” Netherlands too is considering a ban. Some cities in Italy already have prohibitions in place. A young Tunisian woman in the northern city of Novara was fined for wearing a face veil that covered her face except for her eyes. She was on her way with her husband to prayers at a local mosque. The law forbids women from wearing clothing in public that prevents the police from identifying the wearer. The Tunisian woman must pay of fine of $650. The police inspector in Novara said that said, “we just enforced a local law that stops people from covering their faces near sensitive places like schools, hospitals and post offices.” Now Italy’s conservative Northern League is pressing for national legislation.
Not all European governments see the ban as desirable. Germany’s foreign minister, Thomas de Maiziere, for example, has said that imposing a ban on face veils is both “inappropriate and unnecessary.” Not surprisingly, European Muslim leaders have condemned the bans as discriminatory. Critics worldwide have said that the bans are in violation of the right to freedom of expression and of religious freedom, and point out that it would also worsen the growing intolerance toward Muslims in Europe. They are correct.
George Anderson, S.J.
I don't think it's fair to compare cultural traditions in which physical harm occurs to traditions in which modesty is respected.
As far as I know, the burqa-wearing women in the EU are not forced to wear their burqas. But you and Ann beleive that they must be victims, because who, other than a victim, would voluntarily wear a burqa. This is the problem with liberal thinking and feminism: they seek to find victimhood where there is none; they seek to fix that which does not need fixing.
I've no doubt that such beliefs are of good intention, but what about the harm that is caused to the "oppressed" women by stripping them of their religious/cultural traditions that in many cases define their lives and their relationship with God?
Physical harm most certainly does occur to women where it is the norm (or indeed law) to wear the burqa. Even after the Taliban, some women in parts of Afghanistan continue to wear the burqa out of fear, not modesty. In Saudi Arabia women wear it because it is the law.
I'm not sure how you can defend a ''cultural tradition'' that involves civil rights violations and helps keep women in many parts of the Islam world as second class citizens.
''This is the problem with liberal thinking and feminism: they seek to find victimhood where there is none; they seek to fix that which does not need fixing.''
I'd like you to explain that logic to a child bride or a woman forced to wear a hot, synthetic tent because she fears she will be considered fair game by men if she shows any skin.
I would think a burqa should only be a choice when it is a choice made freely by every Muslim woman.
I realize that in certain Muslim nations wearing the burqa is done out of fear; but what I was referring to are the nations, such as France, where Sharia law is not the law of the land and women are free to not wear the burqa.
What Sarkozy is proposing is to force those women to betray their religious choice, which I believe can be as bad as forcing others to wear burqas.
There is a huge difference between the burqa and typical head/arm/leg coverings in the rest of Islam.
I don't purport to know what goes on in the minds of women who wear burqas; what's disingenuous is suggesting that burkas are civil rights violations because they are different from what Western thought deems to be repressive.
Sure, give them the freedom to not wear them OR TO WEAR THEM; and give them the choice to follow their religious tradition or not. BUT there's no reason to convince them that their religion is wrong and that they should revolt, which seems to be what you're suggesting here. This is a problem with Western civilization: we think we have all the answers for everybody else. True freedom allows people to come to their own conclusions without coercion (even if you think it's for their own good) from others.
I know it's not that simple, but, man, it seems we are really on a bad track.
I'm for banning burqas in the West in public places. This is a tricky stance, though, because the issue is hard to pin down. Is wearing a burqa a religious thing or a cultural thing? Is banning the burqa nationalism disguised as feminism .... is it political conservatives who want to ban the burqa for jingoistic, xenophobic, or racist reasons? If banning it is about feminism and not nationalism, is it more "feminist" to ban a forced wearing of clothing that seems to dehumanize women, or is it more feminist to champion the rights of women who actually prefer to wear the burqa? ........
[M]y own feeling is that burqa-wearing is not a religious issue but a culturally driven discrimination against women issue ..... that while political right-wingers may be using the burqa issue to push their own agendas, there is no intrinsic link between the desire to ban burqas and nationalistic, xenophobic, anti-religious, mono-cultural jingoism ..... and, in my opinion, while it may seem like the desire to ban burqas, instead of freeing women, takes away their freedom of choice, actually this is not so .....
''Indeed, French Muslim leaders have noted that the Koran does not instruct women to cover their faces, while in Tunisia and Turkey, it is forbidden in public buildings; it is even prohibited during the pilgrimage to Mecca.''
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/opinion/05cope.html?scp=2&sq=burqa&st=cse
(Sarkozy also favors the ban on the full-body mask.)
Father, what about the rights of women? These women are indoctrinated from birth to be mere chattel, what about their rights?