Showing posts with label Burqa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burqa. Show all posts

Monday, March 08, 2021

Swiss Voters Approve Burka Ban

SwissInfo reports that voters in Switzerland yesterday approved, by a narrow majority, a constitutional amendment that would ban wearing of the burka in public places:

A decade after another national vote that banned the building of minarets, Switzerland will introduce a clause in its constitution to outlaw face coverings, including the Islamic burka and niqab, in public spaces....

Exceptions to the law will include face coverings for reasons of security, climate, or health – which means protective masks worn against Covid-19 are acceptable. Niqabs and burkas will still be allowed in places of worship.

Final results on Sunday showed just six of the country’s 26 cantons rejecting the initiative, which was launched by the right-wing Egerkinger committee – the same group who were behind the minaret vote in 2009.

Turnout was just over 50%, a little above average.

Sunday, April 07, 2019

Clearing A Courtroom OK'd For Testimony By Muslim Woman With Uncovered Face

In Copper v. Superintendent of Sci-Greene, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59150 (ED PA, April 2, 2019), a Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge recommended rejecting a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel brought by convicted murderer Tyreese Copper.  Copper argued that his counsel should have objected that the way in which the trial judge accommodated the religious concerns of a Muslim woman who was one of the prosecution witnesses violated his right to a public trial. The witness was wearing a burqa. The trial court judge insisted that she uncover her face so that the jury could assess her credibility. The judge however agreed to clear public spectators from the courtroom while she testified with her face cover removed.

Friday, June 29, 2018

Temporary Injunction Issued Against Quebec's Anti-Niqab Law

In the Canadian province of Quebec yesterday, a trial court again blocked the province's anti-niqab law from taking effect.  The law bans the both those furnishing government services, and those receiving them, from doing so with their face covered. (See prior posting.) According to Reuters:
A judge in December suspended the ban until the provincial government crafted regulations. The completed regulations, which included arrangements for individuals to obtain religious exemptions, were poised to take effect on Sunday.
But another judge on Thursday deemed the new rules confusing and ambiguous and suspended implementation again while the court challenge goes ahead.
Quebec Superior Court Judge Marc-Andre Blanchard wrote in his ruling that the law appeared on its face to violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, adding it could cause Muslim women “irreparable harm.”

Wednesday, November 08, 2017

Suit Challenges Quebec's New Anti-Niqab Law

As announced by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, a suit was filed in a Quebec Superior Court yesterday challenging the constitutionality of Sec. 10 of Quebec's recently enacted Religious Neutrality Law (see prior posting).  The law provides that public sector employees in carrying out their functions may not cover their faces, and that private citizens must have their faces uncovered when receiving public services.  The complaint (full text) in National Council of Canadian Muslims v. Attorney General of Quebec, (Que. Super., filed 11/7/2017) contends that Sec. 10 of the violates freedom of religion and equality protections of the Quebec and Canadian Charters of Rights and Freedoms.  It asserts that the Act's requirement particularly impacts Muslim women.

Friday, October 20, 2017

Quebec Enacts New Religious Neutrality Law

In Canada in Wednesday, Quebec's National Assembly passed Bill 62 (full text) which is designed to assure that those providing government services, including subsidized educational institutions, adhere to principles of religious neutrality.  Exceptions in the Act include those engaged in religious instruction in universities, or to prison or university chaplains.  In a section aimed at burqas, the Act bans both those furnishing government services, and those receiving them, from doing so with their face covered, though accommodations are possible. A UPI report on the new law suggests that it will prevent Muslim women who wear the burqa from visiting libraries or riding public buses.  The Act also provides criteria for granting religious accommodations to public employees. Among other things, any accommodation must be "consistent with the right for equality between women and men," and may "not compromise the principle of State religious neutrality." [Thanks to Scott Mange and Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Friday, January 13, 2017

Morocco Implementing Burqa Ban

According to UPI, in Morocco this week the government began to give notices to businesses that they must stop making and selling burqas. Government officials say the ban stems from instances in which criminals have used burqas to disguise themselves during robberies. Others however suggest that the ban of the head-to-toe garment is aimed at conservative Muslims in the country. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Wednesday, December 07, 2016

Merkel Calls For Burqa Ban In Germany

The Los Angeles Times reports that yesterday German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a ban in Germany on the burqa and niqab that fully cover the face of Muslim women who wear them.  In a policy speech to her party's congress, she said, "Here, we show our faces, so full veiling is not appropriate." She called for a ban to be enacted wherever it is legally possible, such as in courtrooms, public schools and universities, and at traffic stops and police checks. Focusing on the need for acceptance of German cultural norms, Merkel said:
Our law takes precedence over honor codes, tribal or family rules and over sharia law. That has to be spelled out clearly.

Thursday, December 01, 2016

Australian Judge Says Muslim Plaintiff Cannot Testify Without Removing Veil

Australia's Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that a trial court judge in the Australian state of New South Wales has ruled that a Muslim woman who is plaintiff in a civil case against the state and federal governments may not take the stand in her own trial without removing her veil which conceals her face. Moutia Elzahed, who is one of two women married to a convicted Islamic extremist, is suing over alleged police brutality during a 2014 counter-terrorism raid of her home.  Elzhed says that for religious reasons she cannot show her face to any man outside her family.  She rejected alternatives of testifying in closed court or via a closed circuit television link since either would show her face to the male lawyers involved in the case.  Elzhed also refused to stand when Judge Audrey Balla entered the courtroom.

UPDATE: Here is the full text of the judge's decision.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Donald Trump On the Ayatollah and Middle Eastern Muslim Women

CBS News reports that Donald Trump, at a campaign rally on Monday, continued his unconventional rhetoric, this time in connection with the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Muslim women in the Middle East. Focusing on how he would address Khamenei, Trump said:
I'll say, 'Hey baby, how ya doing?' I will never call him the Supreme Leader. And I'll get along with him probably. And maybe not. And if he doesn't get along with me, they got problems. We don't.
He then went on to say that the U.S. should stop intervening to further women's rights in the Middle East because women there do not want freedom, as shown by their desire to wear burqas or niqabs that hide their face. Trump framed his conclusion this way:
With the women over there, they don't have to wear the you-know-what. And then I said, 'Oh well that makes sense. That's nice.' Then, I saw women interviewed. They said, 'We want to wear them. We've worn them for a thousand years. Why would anyone tell us?' They want to. What the hell are we getting involved for? The fact is it's easier. You don't have to put on make-up. Look how beautiful everyone looks. Wouldn't it be easier if "mwah" (kissing sound)? Right? Wouldn't that be easy? I tell you if I was a woman - "mwah" - I'm ready darling. Let's go.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Canadian Court Invalidates No-Veil Policy In Taking Citizenship Oath

According to yesterday's Regina Leader-Post, a Canadian Federal Court has struck down the Canadian government's policy of requiring women who wear a face veil for religious reasons to remove it when they take the oath of Canadian citizenship. In a suit brought by a Sunni Muslim woman who immigrated to Canada from Pakistan, the court held that the policy violates the government's own citizenship regulations.  Those regulations require "the greatest possible freedom in the religious solemnization" in taking the oath. (See prior related posting.)

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Paris Opera House Bans Wearing of Niqab

France's 2010 ban on wearing of the full-face veil (niqab) in public places gained new attention this month when on Oct. 3 a tourist from the Gulf States and her male companion who had purchased the most expensive seats for the opera La Traviata at Opera Bastille were ejected before the second act. They were seated directly behind the conductor.  According to an RT report this week, some of the performers said they would not continue before a faceless audience member. They claimed the woman's clothing was distracting. The couple left without trying to obtain a refund of the almost $600 they had paid for their tickets.  A day later, the Opera issued new rules in an internal memo. As subsequently reported by RT, anyone whose face is covered with a veil, mask or hood, so that only their eyes are visible, will be ejected. A hijab that only covers the hair is permitted.

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

European Court Upholds France's Ban Wearing Burqa In Public

The European Court of Human Rights today, in a Grand Chamber judgment, upheld France's ban on Muslim women wearing the full-face veil in public.  In S.A.S. v. France, (ECHR, July 1, 2014), the court by a vote of 15-2 held that France's law prohibiting the concealment of one’s face in public places (and thus barring the burqa and niqab) does not violate either Art. 8 (respect for private and family life) or Art. 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court unanimously held that the law does not violate Art. 14 (discrimination). The Court concluded that the ban can be justified as a means of guaranteeing the conditions of "living together." The Court said in part:
[W]hile it is true that the scope of the ban is broad, because all places accessible to the public are concerned (except for places of worship), the Law of 11 October 2010 does not affect the freedom to wear in public any garment or item of clothing – with or without a religious connotation – which does not have the effect of concealing the face. The Court is aware of the fact that the impugned ban mainly affects Muslim women who wish to wear the full-face veil. It nevertheless finds it to be of some significance that the ban is not expressly based on the religious connotation of the clothing in question but solely on the fact that it conceals the face.....
... [T]he respondent State is seeking to protect a principle of interaction between individuals, which in its view is essential for the expression not only of pluralism, but also of tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no democratic society .... In such circumstances, the Court has a duty to exercise a degree of restraint in its review of Convention compliance, since such review will lead it to assess a balance that has been struck by means of a democratic process within the society in question.
The Court also issued a press release summarizing the decision. CNN reports on the decision. [Thanks to Paul de Mello for the lead.]

Thursday, January 09, 2014

French Court Fines Muslim Woman For Wearing Niqab In Public

In France yesterday, a court in Versailles dismissed a constitutional challenge to France's 2010 law prohibiting women from wearing the niqab or burqa in public.  According to Voice of America,  the court fined Muslim convert Cassandra Belin 150 euros and imposed a 1-month suspended sentence for wearing the niqab in public and for insulting police who ticketed her for doing so. In a different case, a challenge to France's anti-niqab law is pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

European Court Hears Arguments In French Burqa Ban Challenge

Yesterday, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights heard oral arguments (video of full arguments) in S.A.S. v. France, (Application no. 43835/11).  As described in a press release from the Court:
The case concerns the complaint of a French national, who is a practising Muslim, that she is no longer allowed to wear the full-face veil in public following the entry into force, in April 2011, of a law prohibiting concealment of one’s face in public places.
(See prior related posting.)