tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900870923576954613.post4513976655651968711..comments2023-12-21T17:40:26.585+00:00Comments on Atheist MC: Burqa ban O.K (on the face of it).Steve Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243178223616240845noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900870923576954613.post-24874563273033845192010-01-28T12:27:12.206+00:002010-01-28T12:27:12.206+00:00So Sarah Braasch has made her position clear here ...So Sarah Braasch has made her position clear <a href="http://www.ivyparisnews.com/2010/01/ni-putes-ni-soumises-organizes-a-protest-against-the-burqa.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> in her article about the protest staged by Ni Putes Ni Soumises.Steve Bowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15243178223616240845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900870923576954613.post-50283096251572854262010-01-28T09:26:03.700+00:002010-01-28T09:26:03.700+00:00Hi Tommykey. Thanks for dropping by, it's good...Hi Tommykey. Thanks for dropping by, it's good to know I'm not just pissing into the wind.<br />Yeah, it's not a clear cut issue at all and I fully take the point that there maybe real difficulties for some Muslim women should it go ahead. It would be interesting to know Sarah Braasch's take on this as she works on a daily basis with Muslim women in Paris so may have a better informed opinion.<br /><br />This kind of legislation is a peculiarly French way of tackling a issue like this and I find it unlikely that anything similar will happen in the U.K or U.S. Also the French people have a very casual attitude to how they observe some laws and it's not inevitable that a ban would even be enforced. The other thing is that no penalties have been suggested as far as I know. What would actually happen to a fully veiled woman who turned up for treatment at a hospital? would she be turned away if she refused to unveil? I doubt it.<br />The reason I give a (very) tentative welcome to the prospect of a ban though is the cultural statement it makes. I don't think it is acceptable to cover your face when dealing with other people, it's just rude and disrespectful, regardless of what may be acceptable in their own culture.Steve Bowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15243178223616240845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900870923576954613.post-47466791947067236542010-01-27T17:52:41.774+00:002010-01-27T17:52:41.774+00:00Hi Steve!
Welcome to the blogosphere. I'm amb...Hi Steve!<br /><br />Welcome to the blogosphere. I'm ambivalent about the ban. Of course, I want a world where no woman feels the need to wear a burqa or a niqab. At the same time, it clashes with my belief that people should be free to make choices about themselves.<br /><br />If niqab clad women were committing hostile acts or engaging in theft in public, then there would definitely be a public policy angle to hang the ban on. However, the proposal to ban it in France ultimately seems to be because of what they associate it with.<br /><br />One of the better arguments I have read against a ban is that if these women feel they can only go out in public wearing the niqab, then they will feel forced to remain indoors and not interact with the larger society at all.<br /><br />That being the case, if a ban were adopted, what I would like to see happen is that women who are fined or arrested for it be required to meet with a public official and an imam who teaches that such restrictive garb is not required under Islam, find out the reasons why she insists on wearing it, and try to work it out rather than just treating her like a criminal.Tommykeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14751182125861177379noreply@blogger.com