Quebec’s Law on Facial Veils Fuels Fierce Debate

Space_Time · Jan 29, 2018

Should the niqab be banned in public places? Is it oppressive or is it liberating? How will the government work this out?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/quebec...ate-1516876200?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=3

Quebec’s Law on Facial Veils Fuels Fierce Debate
Canadian province’s partial ban on niqabs raises legal and political challenges
Marie-Michelle Lacoste, who also uses her Muslim name, Warda Naili, GUILLAUME SIMONEAU FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Vipal Monga
Jan. 25, 2018 5:30 a.m. ET
196 COMMENTS
MONTREAL—As a Muslim teenager in her native Tunisia, Nadia El-Mabrouk never once saw a woman wearing a full-face veil. After moving to Canada, she was shocked to see her first one on the streets of Montreal.

Now the University of Montreal computer-science professor is one of many Quebec residents backing a provincial government ban on the Islamic face covering, called a niqab. “It’s a walking prison,” she said.

Professor Nadia El-Mabrouk, a native of Tunisia, is among the majority of Quebec residents who support the ban on niqabs. PHOTO: GUILLAUME SIMONEAU FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The measure, part of a law passed by the National Assembly of Quebec in October, bans women from wearing face coverings when using public services such as buses or libraries. Provincial lawmakers say the law is meant to ensure public security and is among the first of its kind in North America.

A Quebec superior court suspended the ban in December after rights groups asked for a stay until the court decides whether the law is constitutional. Pending a judgment on that question, the law will likely go back into force later this year once the government meets the court’s demand to publish guidelines on how it will be applied.

The law, known as Bill 62, is creating a thorny challenge for the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which will decide by the end of this month whether or not to join the lawsuit challenging the niqab ban or take other official measures to oppose it.

Mr. Trudeau, who has championed both Canadian immigration and women’s rights, has said he didn’t agree with the law, but when it passed, he expressed a reluctance—common among Canadian prime ministers—to wade into Quebec’s provincial politics. “It isn’t up to the federal government to challenge this,” he said.

The law has engendered a fierce debate that reflects broader tensions over immigration and cultural change in Canada and mirrors battles over the full-face veils in France, Germany and other European countries. Like much of Western Europe, Quebec has absorbed an influx of immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries in recent years, though only a small fraction of Quebec’s population uses the niqab.

The veil represents a “political and religious ideology” that is degrading to women, said André Lamoureux, a political-science professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal and a prominent secular activist.

Migration Mix
Many newcomers to Quebec come fromMuslim-majority countries
Percentage of immigrants to Quebec bycountry of origin, 2016
Source: Institut de la statistique du Québec
But opponents of Bill 62 say it amounts to a violation of freedom of religion and equal rights. “Feminism is about giving the choice to the women, not dictating to them what are acceptable choices,” said Catherine McKenzie, a lawyer representing plaintiffs in the continuing court case against the Quebec government.

Beyond that ideological dispute, there is also confusion over how the law would be enforced. Bus drivers, for instance, question whether they would have to refuse service to women who wear niqabs. Under the court order, the provincial government must publish guidelines on how public-sector agents can apply the rule by June 30. A spokeswoman for the provincial justice department said it would do so “sooner rather than later.”
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Moi621 · Jan 29, 2018

Space_Time said: ↑

Should the niqab be banned in public places? Is it oppressive or is it liberating? How will the government work this out?
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Bravo !

Just like "face shielding" hoodies ala Trayvon.
Hats and face gear that an independent computer ID system warns, "cannot ID".
In higher security areas, call in the rapid deployment intervention for a full face view.
Devout can avoid repeated harassment leaving a retina scan on file.

Seems fair to Moi.
Includes some hipster who wears face shielding garb.

Across an immense, unguarded, ethereal border, Canadians, cool and unsympathetic,
regard our America with envious eyes and slowly and surely draw their plans against us.

Chester_Murphy · Jan 29, 2018

DennisTate · Mar 3, 2018

Chester_Murphy said: ↑

View attachment 64549
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The niqab should definitely be banned from drivers licenses and other official ID cards.

Chester_Murphy · Mar 3, 2018

DennisTate said: ↑

The niqab should definitely be banned from drivers licenses and other official ID cards.
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You can't wear that in stores. Sorry, but, it is an issue of the law. Within some perfect world of some sort, it might not matter.

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Quebec’s Law on Facial Veils Fuels Fierce Debate

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