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Foreign Correspondent: April 27

The French Government is drafting legislation to ban Muslim women from wearing full-face veils in public, even though it could be unconstitutional.

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Tonight’s Foreign Correspondent will look at a contentious French plan to ban Muslim women from wearing full-face veils in public, even though it could be unconstitutional.

The new law, which will go before parliament next month, will prohibit women from wearing the eye-revealing niqab and the full veil known as the burka in shops, markets and in public buildings.

The ban would also extend to the streets of France.

Europe Correspondent Emma Alberici meets two very different young women, both of whom argue passionately from diametrically opposed positions on freedom of choice.

It airs 8pm tonight on ABC1.

9 Responses

  1. It was a good programme, looked into both sides of the story – although the claims that this policy was agreed to by all political parties (by one politician interviewed) was not investigated enough IMO. One can’t just make a big claim like that without evidence from the other parties, which (if it was given to the producers) wasn’t shown.

  2. While I support religious freedom (indeed freedom of all expression), there have to be some limits. As Paull noted, we’d feel a bit uncomfortable if they were wearing balaclavas.

    Face to face contact is an important component of human interaction – we pick up on a lot of information from someone’s face when we communicate with them. I understand the desire for “modesty” but feel that the clothing worn by Indonesian muslims which covers all but the face (similar to that which nuns wear) is a happy medium in this regard.

  3. Just to add to my previous post- I’d have to say personally when I see someone in the full face cover (a very rare thing) it actually scares me in the same way that seeing someone in a balaclava does. Which makes sense, seeing as people who wear balaclavas are doing so to avoid being identified.

  4. The decision to ban these face coverings has given me a new found respect for France. Good on then for sticking up for their democracy and not allowing a certain religion to take priority. I have no problems with the head cover but the full face cover is just plain wrong and takes away the right of women to be treated as human beings. In my opinion it just completely removes their identity and humanity.

  8. Investigations into various governments’ issues by ABC current affairs shows like last night on Four Corners (federal government’s home insulation scheme) and that tonight on Foreign Correspondent show that the ABC continues to lead the way in current affairs and news coverage in this country.

    This should be an interesting and thought provoking programme tonight and hopefully the quality of these, and other, current affairs/news shows will not be diluted by the 24 hour news channel.

  9. They are trying to liberate these women in the name of freedome but IMO is more a case of national security where the authorities can’t see who is under the veil, and they could well be a terrorist or wanted criminal.

    IMO it should be freedom of choice, what next ban people wearing religious symbols like crosses or the yarmulke in public?

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