a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment
dublinben  ·  4391 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: One year after the french burqa-ban
    “Anyone who covers their face ends up severing themselves from society. It creates a barrier and hinders participation in public debate."

This kind of quote (from a Muslim women's activist) is exactly how I would summarize the situation. The ban wouldn't be necessary if people weren't excluding themselves in such an oppressive manner. Domestic abuse used to be considered a "private matter" that was ignored by the authorities, and now we know better. I see no difference here.

    "I don't want to spend the rest of my life here. I have plans to move away, because I don't want to live like this,"

For better or for worse, this is the exact result that the French government is looking for. They want to pressure the extreme minority of people who wear the full niqab to either drop it and join French society, or move to a country that supports the practice.