Traditions and Courtesies

Woman fined for wearing full-face veil

Image Credit: Reuters
France stood fast to its principles, and for its efforts has been both congratulated and condemned. Needless to say, burqa-clad women - or possibly they're men by the hirsute looks of the hands holding up the signage that reads "Nicolas Sarkozy go to Hellfire" in one publicized photo - are not too fond of the French President for ensuring that the niqab ban passed into law.

It could be argued that France, the country that is proud to proclaim itself an exemplar of freedom, equality and brotherhood is also invested in its national values, priorities and customs. Many of which began to slowly exit the scene as immigration proceeded apace, leaving the country with an estimated five to ten million Muslims. From a religious heritage and customs that run counter to those of France.

Of that great number of Muslims, many of whom sequester themselves in ghettos called banlieues where they become a law unto themselves, both in recognition of Sharia and a hostile lawlessness demonstrating its presence in police taunting and the mass nighttime torching of cars, a relative handful of women, estimated no greater than one thousand wear full face and body coverings.

The women, whether through customary choice or through demands not of their own volition in a patriarchal society, may now face fines for wearing a niqab in public, and if their menfolk are suspected and found guilty of forcing the women to garb themselves in linen tombs, their fines will be astronomical.

It is, essentially, the spectacle of a woman made invisible that so infuriates those who don't subscribe to the wearing of burqas. It is a socially hostile act when it is performed in a country and within a society whose normative cultural behaviours find such apparel insulting to women. And it's a really tough call to make, since by so doing the law impinges on a woman's right to wear whatever she will.

On the other hand, there's a security factor involved, not only one of social interaction or lack of it. A full burqa represents a disguise, an identity shield, that anyone can wear in public incognito. The stranger has no idea who they are looking at. While being acutely aware that the wearer has no wish to reveal themselves to an onlooker. Something that, in a Western culture becomes an affront.

We are denied cues; whether the person has friendly or hostile intentions toward us. It has not been unknown for terrorists, and ordinary thugs to clad themselves in female full body-and-face covering for their own nefarious means. Most of all, however, in a free and equal society the symbol of a woman being maintained in a social purdah is an affront to our concepts of liberty and respect for the individual.

So, do we need to enact a similar law in Canada? How many women in Canada wear burqas? Depends, one supposes, where you live, whether there is a large and growing Muslim population. And, increasingly in Canada the Muslim population is large enough right now to be noticeable, and growing as well. While the incidence is relatively rare, it does surprise one now and again when it occurs.

And leaves a taste of alienation in the eyes of the beholder. The world is a seething mass of human migration, people moving through refugee camps into receiving countries, and immigrants looking for a better way of life for themselves and their children. There are certain standards of behaviour and customary expectations that should remain inviolable. This issue may not be one of the more important ones, but it does represent a start.

Come to this country, and accept the normatives of social intermingling and respect for others. It is clearly a sign of disrespect for women in general to insist they move about silently and without an identifiable face; expressions cannot be determined. It is equally a signal of disrespect for the welcoming society that distrust is such that women must be held to a standard repulsive to that society.

At risk of seeming like a social bully, and unfair to other cultures, there are times when traditions clash, and in instances such as this, one must submit to the other; not necessarily the welcoming tradition, courteously accepting the incoming one.

There are times when respect for indigenous norms and cultures must be maintained and those who enter as guests should be put on notice.