Burqua Ban

The Dutch parliament is planning to ban the burqua.

Last December, parliament voted to forbid women from wearing the burqa or any Muslim face coverings in public, justifying the move in part as a security measure.

Yeah, right. Security, indeed. Like the need for pensioners to remove their hats in pubs is all to do with security.

Make no mistake, I abhor the burqua – it is offensive to my eyes. It represents all that I find repugnant in Islamic misogyny. But… if women want to wear them, who am I to gainsay them? I get royally pissed off with anyone who dares to lecture me on personal appearance, whether it is the length of my hair or the clothes I wear – and am quick to treat them to the acid side of my tongue, so am equally dismayed when it happens to others.

According to Geet Wilders, the member of parliament who proposed the ban:

“The burqa is hostile to women, and medieval. For a woman to walk around on the streets completely covered is an insult to everyone who believes in equal rights.”

And he doesn’t see the contradiction? Equal rights includes the right to walk about completely covered. Yes, I agree, it is a symbol of a repressive belief system, it is offensive to those of us who believe in equal rights – but those of us who truly believe in equal rights respect the right of people to make their own decisions about what they wear, whatever the motivation behind it.

I’m appalled that the Netherlands, traditionally a nation of tolerant people, should be considering allowing the government to tell people what they may – or may not – wear. Where, I wonder will it stop? You don’t protect rights by taking them away.

Hat tip to Samizdata