I completely disagree. Forcing women to wear the burqa relegated them to non people. They didn’t have the right to show themselves in public. France requires that one show ones face in public. They can cite a myriad of reasons, some of which being for public safety, and for communication. In the West, covering ones face is equated with being sneaky, being two faced, being less than honest. People who rob establishments cover their faces, people who commit murders cover their faces, people who are open and an active part of society do not. The only time people do cover their faces, are when it’s required for safety–against a harsh wind, or for medical reasons. Anything else is deemed suspicious. It is disturbing to the people of France, as well as people in much of the west, and that needs to be understood.
The law concerns everyone who covers their face. While part of it may be a reaction to the niqab, it encompasses more than just that.
I think people are assuming I’m staunchly anti niqab. I used to wear one. And yet,I still think if the government wants you to show your face, there is no harm, no violation of human rights, because those laws are in place to protect society as a whole. When the government starts trying to relegate how long your skirt can be, or what hairstyles you can wear, then we can start talking about violations.
the KKK are niqaabis too
I think it’s sad that non-muslims have to force these people to stop covering their faces, these people should have done it themselves a long time ago.
If the purpose of the niqaab is to divert attention from oneself than wearing one in a western country is counterintuitive.
hmm I’m confused, what exactly is the purpose of the niqaab? And why do these women do it? Why is religion used to justify wearing a niqaab? What’s Islamic about it?
It’s supposed to protect women from men’s perversion. Women pay the price because men are sexually starved and perverted and might rape them if they can see anything except the eyes.
I certainly don’t have a problem with women choosing to wear niqaab in the west. My wife is one of them. My experience has been that most people really don’t care what others do as long as it doesn’t harm them.
I’ve had the odd person try to lecture me about women’s rights when they see me with her but that has been less than once per year. On the other hand, when people question her about why she does it, you actually have more people who appreciate it after her explanation.
…