[pp.int.general] Belgium proposes to ban burqas, and masks, and dark sunglasses

[Stephane Bakhos]

> In sum, in NL a burqa ban would be the wrong solution to a non-existing 
> problem, with just symbolic value for politicians.
>
> QUESTION TO THE LIST: do you (all readers of this list) see lots of burqa's around you?

No, I only saw burqa's once in Laval, never in Montreal. Interestingly 
enough, the burqa's that I saw were very tight and were revealing the 
women's forms perfectly.

The law 94 banning it in the government settings basically say that the 
Charter right to religious freedom must not infringe on the other rights 
of the Charter, in particular men-women equality and the laicity of the 
state.

The law also specify that it is commonly accepted practice that government 
services are rendered and received with an unmasked face and that an 
accomodation to that practice must be refused if there are any security, 
communication and identification concerns.

This all started a bit earlier in March when a woman wearing a burqa was 
expelled from a french class taught by the government because she would 
not reveal her face or her lips to the teacher so that she can check for 
proper enounciation.

And yes, the Quebec law is mostly a knee-jerk reaction. The estimates of 
the Muslim council of Montreal say that about 12 people in the Montreal 
region wear the burqa or the niqab.