Politicians avoid real issues on the burka
He may be out of the Government, and he may be out of the country on holiday, but Boris Johnson remains the most talked-about politician in the land after his Daily Telegraph article on Monday concerning the burka bans in Europe. The former foreign secretary asked whether the UK should follow the examples of France, Germany, Austria, Belgium and Denmark by proscribing the garb worn by some Muslim women, before concluding that it would be wrong to do so. Most readers might have concluded that his was an argument for religious freedom. But comments about the way women looked in burkas – like letter boxes or bank robbers, he said – have triggered demands for an apology or his suspension from the Conservative Party.
The criticism of Mr Johnson is coming predominantly from non-muslim politicians – both Tory and Labour – or from Muslim men. One group not being heard are the women who wear the burkas. Indeed, their voices are rarely heard, which is part of the problem. Theresa May has said “women should be allowed to wear what they please”, and Mr Johnson did not disagree. But are the women wearing the burka happy to do so; and, if not, are they really able to choose or are they required to conform to a set of sartorial requirements decreed by men?
Why is a feminist like Nicola Sturgeon using this controversy to bash Mr Johnson, rather than address the real issue surrounding women’s rights and the growing dominance of fundamentalist Islam? As the Muslim woman writing on this page attests, many see the burka as an instrument of familial pressure and religious hegemony. Her point is reinforced by the fact that she feels unable to write under her own name.
What is worrying is that the Government, which has hitherto said the burka should not be banned but nor should it be encouraged because it foments cultural isolation, appears to have changed its policy. Jeremy Wright, the Culture Secretary, invited on BBC radio to say this form of dress is “oppressive”, declined to do so.
In their eagerness to take revenge on Mr Johnson for his role in Brexit or his perceived threat to Mrs May’s leadership, our politicians are ignoring the main issues, and not for the first time. They say that while they dislike Mr Johnson’s comments, it is important to have “the debate”, without defining what it should be about. The truth is that a debate is the last thing they want.