I suppose it is time that I made a comment on the upcoming French law that bans the Burqa in public here in France.
The proposed fine for a woman wearing a Burqa in a public place is about $150
The proposed fines for a man forcing a woman to wear a Burqa up to $20,000 plus a year in prison.
Well we had our first local public scuffle, with both participants claiming they were physically assaulted.
Local story in French
Totally messed up story repeated in the Telegraph in English
What the Telegraph fails to mention.
1] The woman wearing the Burqa is a French convert, actually born in Blain about 20 miles North of Nantes 44.
2] The usual racist remark given by the lawyer 'go back home to your own country', seeing she [Élodie] was born in France; funnily enough she already was.
Even though I dislike the idea of the Burqa completely, I believe the law happens to be an ass in this case.
1] Women that are forced to wear the Burqa are unlikely to implicate their husbands due to fear, hence they will be fined and the husbands will not be accused under the law. Some women wear the Burqa; as a statement of faith, due to culture shock, or even [now] as a sign of civil disobedience.
2] A secular government has overstepped its legitimate rights in this case, since the most common defense for wearing a Burqa is; 'this is a sign of my submission before God'. By this same token Catholic Nuns should be forbidden for wearing their habits in public.
Since the Burqa is worn in public in front of strangers, and not generally in the home, the law essentially bans the garment.
I was more in favor of a law:
Banning the Burqa in Government buildings, no fines, just the refusal of admittance. The French state already forbids religious symbols in all public buildings and banning the Burqa would be no different. Then again nuns and priests would also to wear civilian clothes for the law not to look like racism, or religious persecution.
Taking the Burqa as a religious symbol simplifies the reasoning, if not the practical application of the law.
Whilst I try an discourage any woman from wearing the Burqa, it is not my right to forbid them if it worn by choice. The fact that their families and this is not only the men, force them into wearing the Burqa is a whole different line of reasoning.
Banning the Burqa in public will not end violence, oppression and fear within the home; religious or otherwise. Only education can do that.
Its a difficult subject to tackle fairly without allowing prejudice to trump reason.
Personally I believe it to be a repressive garment, but I refuse to permit equally repressive legislation to control its wearing.
The subject is fascinating, and I am still writing a diary on the veil in general.
Update
I have to go out for the day.
The discussions here in France got very racist and Islamaphobic at times. There are 5 million Muslims in France and the percentage that wear face coverings of any type is low.
Singling out a minority is often dangerous and allows people like LePen reasonable justification to spout bile.
I dislike the whole concept of the Burqa for many reasons.
The face needs to be seen for identification purposes.
I will catch up with the discussion later