Ontopic The Burqa

Are you for or against the Burqa?


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So yet another country has banned the Burqa.

Note: (fucked up the poll)

Nay = Against
Yay = For


Belgium unites to ban the burqa



By Teri Schultz - GlobalPostPublished: April 29, 2010 17:53 ET

BRUSSELS, Belgium — This is a country that currently has no prime minister and no prospect of resolving the bitter political-linguistic breach that caused the cabinet to fall a week ago.
But it is well on its way to having a burqa ban.
Belgium's French and Dutch parties have occasionally refused to even meet with each other and the linguistic divide colors nearly every aspect of politics here. But at the plenary session of the lower house of parliament this afternoon during the debate on outlawing the full Muslim veil, speaker after speaker read from practically the same script to declare the ban the right thing to do. The vote was 136-0, with two abstentions.
The bill now goes to the senate for a mandatory 15-day period of review. Under normal circumstances, if senators approved the measure without changes, it would be published and implemented. However, these are hardly normal circumstances as this legislature awaits its own impending dissolution due to the political stalemate. The date that will happen is still unclear but if it occurs before the burqa ban is approved, the bill ends up on the scrap heap.
But if it does become law, anyone caught with their face fully covered could be fined up to 25 euros ($33) or sent to jail for seven days — except for motorcycle riders, that is. The title of the bill was amended at the last minute on their behalf to note specifically the head-to-toe covering “burqa” and its eye-baring relative, the “niqab,” rather than broadly banning the act of obscuring one’s visage.
It’s somewhat ironic that Belgium would become the first European country with a full federal ban. The percentage of Muslims living here is just 3.6 percent, compared with France’s 10 percent, or the Netherlands' 5.8 percent. Of the roughly 375,000 people who identify themselves as Muslim in Belgium, it’s estimated that several dozen cover their faces.
The measure’s sponsor, Daniel Bacquelaine, head of the French-speaking Liberal Party, said he was proud to lead the world in barring the garment, explaining that the small number of people the law could apply to is irrelevant.
“It’s not a problem of the number of people who wear a burqa,” he said. “It’s really a symbol to say clearly if we want to live together in a free society, we need to recognize each other.”
Bacquelaine suggested that everyone can appreciate how important it is, for example, that teachers can tell children are being picked up after school by the person who really is their mother, or for a bank teller to be able to identify the person trying to withdraw money from an account.
The lawmaker heatedly rejected accusations the bill is anti-Islamic or anti-female. On the contrary, he said it would help all Muslims, and especially women, integrate into society. “I think it’s not really a choice to wear a burqa. If we forbid the veil on the street and in the shops they obtain more freedom to live,” he explained.
I am completely against the Burqa. And not for religious reasons as the Burqa is not Islamic. I see it as oppression of women, and no country should tolerate it.

You?
 
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Normally, I would feel that if a woman wants to wear a tent over her head, that's her decision to make. However, in the case of the burqa, I feel like it is probably not her decision to make. Off the bat I'm going Nay (which I think means I support the ban).
 
It is a security issue though. If ski masks can be illegal, so can burqas. How do you know it's a woman under there, or that there aren't guns and bombs? You don't. Just ask our soldiers in the Middle East.
 
Great. I love the government interfering with religion! TAKE CARE OF ME DADDY!

Religion?

You must of missed the part where I said it wasn't a religious garment. Well I actually said, "The Burqa is not Islamic".
 
In that case you hate the Burqa then.

Not if its the woman's choice.

And if its not, then these women who are being controlled by their husbands will have to stay at home to observe their religion. The only thing that is changing is now they are oppressed by two entities.

If the underlying concern of the government is the safety and free will of these women, banning the burqa won't cut it.
 
Not if its the woman's choice.

And if its not, then these women who are being controlled by their husbands will have to stay at home to observe their religion. The only thing that is changing is now they are oppressed by two entities.

If the underlying concern of the government is the safety and free will of these women, banning the burqa won't cut it.

The underlying concern is public oppression of women, and the covering of one's face in certain situations where it may be a risk to do so.

The government know they can't control how husbands treat their wives. But they know they can control what they do in public.