Arguments against banning burqas
1. Burqas are an expression of religious faith and should be toleratedIt has been claimed that banning the burqa would be an attack on freedom of speech and religious tolerance in Australia.
Labor's Shaoquett Moselmane, the first Muslim MP in the NSW parliament, responded vigorously to Fred Nile's private member's bill introduced into the New South Wales parliament calling for a ban on the burqa. Mr Moselmane stated, 'There is no urgency required to expedite further divisions amongst our harmonious multicultural community.
There is no urgency in spreading further fear and hatred in our community.
There is no urgency for freedom of speech, expressions of individual rights to be trashed by this bill.'
Kuranda Seyit is the executive director of the Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations (FAIR)has stated, 'The burqa is not common amongst Muslims, but for those who believe that they must wear it here in Australia, we cannot tell them what they can and cannot wear.
This country allows women to take off all of their clothes except for a bikini brief, why cannot it allow people to cover their faces in public, if that is what they believe?'
2. Some Muslim women freely choose to wear a burqa
It has been claimed that for the small number of Muslim women who wear the burqa this practice is a matter of choice, that is, they wear it of their own free will.
It has been claimed that it is an indication of cultural prejudice that Westerns believe that Muslim women have the burqa imposed upon them rather than choose to wear it.
Liz Conor, the author of The Spectacular Modern Woman: Feminine Visibility in the 1920s and a research fellow in the Department of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne, has stated, 'We haven't bothered to ask Muslim women what the burqa means to them, because we've fallen into an entrenched colonial habit of thinking ''less civilised'' women are oppressed and need us to liberate them, this time with spectacular arrogance, by banning them from having any choice.'
Connor argues that we have mistaken physical appearance for female independence and in the process have ignored that many Muslim women who wear the burqa do so willingly. She also notes that there are many ways for a woman to express her individuality other than through dress. She states, 'The condemning of the burqa is another round in our habitual failure of imagination when facing off with difference. If we listened respectfully we'd find a wealth of Muslim women who assert their identities unequivocally, with their voices.'
Similarly, British playwright, Stephanie Street, who has interviewed numerous Muslim women has stated, 'To whatever extent a Muslim woman chooses to practise it, modesty is a central concern within the religion (for men as well, although this is often ignored). Everyone I spoke to who wore Islamic dress did so because this issue of modesty is sacrosanct, and they felt liberated not being judged on their appearance. And those who choose to wear the niqab are doing that to an extreme.'
Muslim spokesman, Keysar Trad, has stated, 'While I don't advocate the face cover, I will defend the rights of any Muslim woman who wishes to wear it and if she doesn't choose to wear it, I defend her as well.'
3. No other form of headgear has been totally prohibited
It has been argued that it would be extreme and discriminatory to impose a total ban on the wearing of burqas as no other head gear has been treated in this way. The Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has argued, for example, that the use of ski masks in robberies had not led to a total ban on ski masks.
It has been noted that, although there are prohibitions on balaclavas, ski masks and motorbike helmets, these only apply in areas deemed to be significant security risks such as banks and airports. There is not a general ban on the wearing of these items.
Thus, critics of such a ban on burqas claim, there should be no general restriction on women wearing this form of dress.
4. Banning the burqa would foster anti-Muslim prejudice
It has been claimed that to associate a particular racial group with female oppression and to identify them as at particular risk of committing crimes is racial stereotyping and religious vilification.
Journalist, Julie Posetti, has argued, 'The perpetuation of stereotypes such as the suggestion all women who wear the burqa are concurrently oppressed & threatening, in combination with fear of difference, have exposed Muslim women to racist attacks in Australia. In the aftermath of Sept 11, and the Bali & London bombings, they were spat on, their veils were ripped off...they were verbally assaulted. Debates like this can make Muslim women feel at risk, rather than liberated. And they can actually put them at risk when they overflow into violence: in Germany earlier this month, a veiled Muslim woman was stabbed to death in the courtroom she was applying to for justice by the man she accused of racially vilifying her. '
In terms of such views being racially discriminatory, Greg Barns commented on The Crikey website on may 7, 2010, 'To associate persons wearing a burqa with criminal conduct is taking an already extreme argument to a new level, and one that should cause law enforcement agencies and governments around Australia to examine carefully what Senator Bernardi is saying.
There are laws in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania which make religious vilification illegal. Senator Bernardi's comments have been published in each of these jurisdictions and so attract the operation of those laws.'
5. There has been no call from police or other authorities for a ban
At this point no law enforcement agency has called for a ban on burqas. Those who oppose a ban claim that if there were a serious law enforcement issue then some police force, either state or federal, would have requested that they not be worn. This has not occurred.
The Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd, has noted, 'No law enforcement agency has recommended to the government a ban on the burqa.'
Relatedly it has been claimed that banning the burqa would not be an effective measure against those who use it to commit crimes. On May 6, 2010, Ozsoapbox stated, 'Would banning the burqa to stop potential burqa crime have any real effect?
Think about it. You're a criminal and at most you know you're going to spend less then ten minutes out in the open wearing a burqa whilst you commit your crime. Do you really think a burqa ban is going to stop you?
Typically whatever crime you're about to carry out, whether it be robbery, assault, rape or whatever whilst wearing a burqa is going to be more serious then then the illegal act of wearing the burqa itself.'
6. The call for a ban is politically motivated
It has been claimed that senator Bernardi's call to ban the burqa was an attempt to gain a political advantage for his party by exploiting anti-Muslim feeling.
The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has accused the Opposition of playing a cynical political exercise by floating the idea of banning the burqa. Mr Rudd stated, 'I think they are walking both sides of the street on this one ... having someone like Mr Bernardi go out there and talk this up. It's a pretty interesting exercise in cynical politics.'
Mr Rudd's implication appears to be that Senator Bernardi, as a relatively minor representative of his Party, was acting as a stalking horse for the issue, so that if it then appeared attractive to a significant number of voters, his leader, Tony Abbott, could then come in behind it.