Arrests As France Enforces Veil Ban

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Alan

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The controversial legislation has already sparked arrests. Kenza Drider was the first woman to be bundled into a police van for defying the law.

On the day the ban came into force, she travelled from Avignon to Paris to join a small protest of fully-veiled women outside Notre Dame Cathedral.

Before she was taken away she said it was for her a matter of conscience to not comply with the 'burka ban', saying: "I'm just expressing my freedom to be.

"That's European law. This law violates European laws as they stand today."

Madame Drider, who has worn the veil for the past 11 years, said she would challenge the new law in the European courts.

She claims the ban breaches a basic human right of freedom of expression.

Although France is the first country to fully implement the law other European nations are treading a similar path.

Belgium has already passed a law in its lower house banning the wearing of the veil, but because of the political crisis in the country it is yet to be ratified by the senate.

Policemen arrest a niqab veiled woman during an unauthorised protest in front of Notre Dame cathedral in Pairis.

Policemen arrest a niqab veiled woman during a protest in Paris

The Netherlands, Italy and Germany are also discussing the possibility of a ban.

French officials say the move is a measure to protect women's rights and liberal French values.

Women who break the law can be fined 150 euros (£132).

Anyone found guilty of forcing a woman to wear the veil could be fined up to 30,000 euros (£26000) or be sentenced to a year in jail.

There is though another side to the argument according to many European Muslims.

They claim the law stigmatises them for their faith - they also feel the legislation is unnecessary, unfair and divisive.

Alex Rossi: 'Response expected to be fairly muted'

Grazza Hanji is a Syrian exchange student living in Belgium.

She believes the French law represents a shift in Europe's politics to the right, saying: "European ideals are supposed to be about freedom.

"How is freedom helped by stopping women from wearing what they want?"

Although France has the largest Islamic population in western Europe only a tiny proportion of the country's five million Muslims wear the full veil.

The French government puts the figure at no more than 2,000.

Most women are expected to comply with the ban but a few say they will remain true to their beliefs and risk arrest by staying covered up in public.
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SKY
 
While I'm no fan of Islamic women's attire, it's a little outrageous being legally forced not to wear it if they wish. I'd be protesting as well if I were them.
 
copacetic said:
While I'm no fan of Islamic women's attire, it's a little outrageous being legally forced not to wear it if they wish. I'd be protesting as well if I were them.
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I am not either but they are trying to empower females, so in this case i think it is a good thing. The time has come for islam to get with the program.
 
killadoob said:
I am not either but they are trying to empower females, so in this case i think it is a good thing. The time has come for islam to get with the program.
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While I certainly agree in principle, I cannot bring myself to support such a thing. By the same sort of logic that this = freedom, well, countries get [-]invaded[/-] liberated and it causes all sorts of untoward jibber-jabber.
 
Is this not designed to stop people wearing these veils who could be wanted for crimes?
As it stood they could not be identified. Men were allegedly dressing up as women to get around security such as at airports. Not sure if this is fact though
 
marine1 said:
Is this not designed to stop people wearing these veils who could be wanted for crimes?
As it stood they could not be identified. Men were allegedly dressing up as women to get around security such as at airports. Not sure if this is fact though
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That's fairly absurd if you think about it. By the same thinking they should ban hooded coats then. In any case, in today's political and social climate, one of the least inconspicuous outfits is anything remotely suggestive of an Islamic background.

Sounds like nonsense to me.
 
the problem here is that most of these women wear the veil by choice, these sorts of laws are a slap in the face for freedom and womens rights, only about 2000 women wear the full veil in France anyway, a bit silly to make such a huge fuss about them.... all in the name of politics.
 
copacetic said:
That's fairly absurd if you think about it. By the same thinking they should ban hooded coats then. In any case, in today's political and social climate, one of the least inconspicuous outfits is anything remotely suggestive of an Islamic background.

Sounds like nonsense to me.
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You joking? At an airport, a hooded coat wont conceal the face and wouldnt stop the security instructing them to remove the hood. There was some talk some time back about men dressing up as women and using these veils to hide identities.
 
I think the reason they have been banned is partly to allow the people to be recognised.
 
marine1 said:
You joking? At an airport, a hooded coat wont conceal the face and wouldnt stop the security instructing them to remove the hood. There was some talk some time back about men dressing up as women and using these veils to hide identities.
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'There was some talk some time back'. Doesn't sound like a problem to me.

As someone else said - Is it all veiled attire?

I would imagine that a woman wearing an outfit would uncover her face when presenting her passport or whatever security check, problem solved.

If the issue is that, I don't know, we need to have our faces uncovered 24/7, so that big brother can keep a watchful eye, **** that.
 
copacetic said:
While I'm no fan of Islamic women's attire, it's a little outrageous being legally forced not to wear it if they wish. I'd be protesting as well if I were them.
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It's quite openly embraced in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps they should go there and discuss freedom of choice?
 
phaktza said:
You wanna live there you play by their rules. Simple. Just be thankful, it could be worse.
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So freedom of religion is becoming a no no in Western countries? Oh dear. I wonder which religious sect will be next.
 
marine1 said:
If they hate Western culture so much go and live elsewhere
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I mean France is a predominantly Roman Catholic country. The government voted in by the majority of French citizens have passed this law, as such it is the will of the French to keep France, well, French.
 
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