Political disrobing of Muslim women is un-Canadian
The burqa is in the news again. I have been trying to avoid it. I thought to myself: been there, done it. I have written in these pages about facial garbs before.
I have decided to speak up because I find the arguments in these matters always missing a key element, the most important element: why a woman should have the right to wear burqa if she so wishes.
But first let me go over the arguments that have been raised one time or another for banning burqa.
Some see burqa as a security threat. These people see a Bin Laden behind every burqa. They say we should not take chances. Yet I have not heard of one terrorist anywhere caught in burqa. You can hate their ideologies but you will probably never find a Muslim terrorist hiding behind burqa. This is part of their ideology. Burqa is for women.
Some say burqa is a religious garb; it should be banned under secularism. These people need to know burqa is not a religious garb; Islam does not dictate what particular garb one should or should not wear. Neither does secularism.
Some say burqa is a symbol of women’s oppression and that allowing burqa will open the door for Sharia, the code for living that all Muslims should adhere to. There is no evidence that Muslim women want Sharia in Canada. Sharia can, and in my view should be banned under secularism.
It is remarkable that these and similar other arguments are all based on what “we” think the women should wear. They are based on secularism, or on security ground, or on the need to fit in the so-called Canadian values.
Even the arguments in favour of burqa are based on multiculturalism which mistakenly and unfortunately also perpetuates group mentality rather than individual freedom.
To my surprise, no one seems to be interested in asking or knowing what the woman in the burqa wants. Who are these women? What they think?
I want you to imagine a recently arrived, elderly women who has become accustomed to burqa, so much so that she feels insecure going out in public without it. Burqa becomes her guard.
Or, a woman from a country where women do not go out shopping alone. Burqa helps her make a choice.
Or, a woman forced to go to food bank. Burqa protects her dignity.
I know how they feel because I have lived around such women. I have seen their shame and anxiety of going naked-face in public. I have seen their discomfort and anxiety around men. I have seen their dignity and peace of mind secured in their burqa.
The burqa woman is not in anybody’s way, if anything she is out of everybody’s way. She wants to be left alone.
My appeal to Quebecers is this: Please do not listen to arguments based on secularism; please do not listen to arguments based on phoney threats from Islam or Sharia — do not fall prey to Islamophobia; and please do not listen to politicians who may want to score points to win elections. If you care for a free society and want to protect and promote secularism, then you must protect the right of the woman behind the burqa.
It’s not just about Bill 62, or just about Quebec, it’s about all of us, about Canada. That Canada is multicultural and Quebec is protecting secularism is a false dichotomy. Canada and Quebec are both secular and multicultural. Secularism and multiculturalism go hand in hand.
A true secular society cannot be dictated down or legislated; it can only be built from the bottom up. It starts with the right of the individual and grows outward — from every villa, every town, and every city centre — and embraces the neighbourhood and the community.
My defence of burqa is based on an individual’s rights and freedom, not on freedom of religion. Religion can conflict with individual right and freedom.
The woman behind the burqa is a Canadian. Please do not let the politicians disrobe her. Protect her dignity. Show compassion. Make her feel safe in Canada.
And tell the world that Canada is a compassionate country. Tell that the body has soul.
Anything less will be un-Canadian.