Last week, French MPs voted overwhelmingly to ban full face veils worn by Muslim women.
It has not taken long for this sensitive issue to be raised here. You may recall that Labour’s Jack Straw sparked a debate when he said he felt uncomfortable when Muslim constituents came to see him with their faces hidden.
This week, Tory MP Phillip Hollobone has gone further and refused to admit veiled constituents to his surgery. He is also sponsoring a new, ‘Face Coverings Private Members Bill’.
Not everyone agrees with him. Minister Caroline Spellman finds the burka ‘empowering.’ But a YouGov poll this week suggests 67% of the country would like to see to whom they are speaking.
The French ‘yes’ vote, although achieved by a large number of abstentions, was anticipated. The French Parliament had already passed a formal resolution describing the burka as “an affront to French values”.
“The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience and debasement,” said President Sarkozy. “In our country we cannot accept women prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life. That is not our idea of freedom.”
Of course, freedom is one of the cornerstones that the French Republic is founded on, as is equality. And the French believe that a woman behind a veil is not equal.
Asking a woman to uncover her face is not shaming her, especially when she has chosen to live in a western democracy like ours. By following our customs, integration is far more likely, as is social cohesion.
My view is that a healthy democracy relies upon a spirit of openness. To interact freely and without fear, we must all show our faces and be identifiable.
Instinctively, we tend to fear those who hide their faces. Their motives concern us. As human beings, facial expressions are an important form of communication. Emotions like anger, fear and love can be easily signalled without saying a word.
Such a ban would also apply, of course, to the criminal and thuggish element. For too long now we’ve put up with violent protestors, whether they be terrorists, rioters, extreme elements of animal rights’ groups or football hooligans – who perpetrate their cowardly acts behind a mask of anonymity.
I defend, to the hilt, the absolute right of anyone in a democracy to protest, march or disagree with those who govern. In this country – and long may it be the case – we are not incarcerated or tortured for expressing our views so there is no need to hide our identities.
I do respect the right of the armed services, and on occasion the police, to hide their identities on certain operations to avoid reprisals.
Modern protective clothing on both the head and body virtually makes identification impossible anyway, but I think you understand my point.
However, for the citizen, and certainly in this country, the spirit of openness should prevail and if Philip Hollobone has his way, it will.