Lawmakers against Burqa and Naqab in Europien Countries

Lawmakers in Belgium vote to ban the Burqa in public places. France likely to follow

A reasonable move


        Belgian lawmakers have approved a ban on the burqa in public places. This is wrongly viewed by some as an expression of state intolerance of cultural differences. Societies like France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands aren't repressive, yet there's widespread popular opposition in these countries to a dress that hides a woman's body and face. A European Parliament member has called for a ban across Europe, a continent with some of the world's most liberal nations. When free societies take a stand against a custom. surely they have good reasons.
           Democracies guarantee women's rights. The plea for religious freedom can't be used to sanction gender discrimination. Many women, it's contended. choose to wear the burqa. But there's no way of knowing if that's true or they're forced by conservative menfolk to cover themselves. Again, multiculturalism isn't an excuse for social groups to resist integration in the free societies of which they're a part. Belonging to a nation means respecting its laws and sharing its defining values. Republican France, for instance, gives primacy to the citizen over all other identity markers, and rightly so.
         Finally, given the scourge of global terrorism, the security angle is paramount. Belgium's ban is about public security, not faith. Given that it's meant to conceal, the burqa can be misused by terrorists. In the age of 9/11-style suicide attacks, how can anyone seriously object to identification of people by law enforcers, airport personnel and other authorities? Governments are duty-bound to protect human life against criminal attacks. All other concerns must be secondary to the state's obligation to ensure people can go about their daily lives without fear.