Bangladesh life: Women Are "Empowered" By Wearing The Veil

By MAHMET GUL -20.07.10
mahmetgul@rocketmail.com

Minister opposes Muslim veil ban

Wearing the burkha "empowers" women and preserves their dignity, a minister claimed yesterday.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said she was opposed to a ban on the veils in public - as called for by her Tory colleague Philip Hollobone.

She added: "We are a free country, we attach importance to people being free and for a woman it is empowering to be able to choose each morning when you wake up what you wear.

"I don't, living in this country as a woman, want to be told what I can and can't wear.

"Banning the burkha is contrary to what this country is all about."

Ms Spelman said her views had been shaped by a recent visit to Afghanistan. She added: "I spent some time amongst women and that's when I really understood that for them it's a choice.

"For them the burkha confers dignity." France has voted to outlaw the wearing of burkhas in public, saying they degrade women.

But Home Office minister Damian Green said Britain would not follow France's lead. He added: "Telling people what they can and can't wear if they're just walking down the street, is rather un-British.

"We're a tolerant and mutually respectful society."

He agreed there were times when it was important to be able to see someone's face but he said: "I think it's very unlikely and it would be undesirable for Parliament to try to pass a law dictating what people wore."

Right-wing Tories have been pressing for a ban on burkhas.

MP Hollobone introduced a private member's bill which would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public.

He said he would not meet with burkha-clad women with veils at his Kettering surgeries.

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