Seeing through the Veil

Damien Green, the immigration minister, cautiously dismissed calls for a burqa ban in the UK as “rather un-British” arguing that it is the antithesis of our apparent long-standing tradition of tolerance. As banning the burqa continues to be all the rage, with France & Belgium having already outlawed it, we ask the British public what they think. Should the burqa be banned in the interest of women’s emancipation, integration and national security? Or, should we look beyond the veil and ask, is it the state’s business to tell us what we can and cannot wear, let alone what we should or should not believe in? This compelling report which includes eloquent pro and anti-ban views, does suggest that UK citizens are not ban-happy and many hold freedom of expression and womens’ ability to make their own choices as principles worth defending. As one woman tells us “secularism is not about banning anything it’s about getting along & the idea of banning a piece of cloth takes us into la la land.”