Blame it on the Burqa?

Following the example of France, UKIP now propose to ban women from wearing the burqa and niqab in public in the UK. Their excuse? According to Lord Pearson of Rannoch, the leader of UKIP as quoted in "The Times", "this is incompatible with Britain’s values of freedom and democracy.”

This excuse is, of course, dangerous nonsense.  I have always understood "freedom" to include the right to wear what you wish - whether it is a bikini or a burqa, it is a British woman's right to choose what they wear in public. This right should not be eroded.

Why the antipathy to the burqa and niqab? lets look at some of the arguments put forward :

"The burqa and the niqab....

a)......have no basis in Islam" So what? As an atheist, I do not accept the need to follow the rules of any religion. I do accept that a large number of people do follow religious rules, and it is their right to do so, as long as they do not seek to impose them on others. There are infinite varieties of religious and philosophical belief and it is no business of a democratic government to impose a "national standard interpretation" on any of them.

b) ......are a threat to gender equality and marginalise women" So how does a ban solve this one? It's not the garment that is the problem here, it's men's attitudes. If a man forces his wife or daughter to wear a burqa in public, a ban would give him an excuse to keep her entirely at home. If a woman wears one of her own free will, out of personal religious conviction or cultural habit or as a fashion statement, a ban denies her the freedom to express herself.

c) ......endanger the public safety because terrorists could use them to hide their identity" Where identity verification is necessary, a woman may be asked to remove her veil e.g. when passports or driving licenses are checked. This is no excuse for an outright ban.

Banning the burqa, niqab or any other outward symbol of a religion is counter-productive and will be used as evidence of repression by extremists who reject western values. It will not persuade the wearer to change the way they interact with society for the better.