Why I am against the Burqa

Submitted by Octavio Johanson (Italy), Nov 21, 2006 at 05:42

Every country has got its own traditions: that is true for Holland, and it is true for Iran. Some person in this web-site has written that "Europeans are intolerant and oppress women". I am all in favour of freedom of expression, but I strongly disagree. The Dutch have banned the Burqa, because they are asking new-comers to submit to the Dutch way of life. I don't see anything wrong with that. If the Burqa does not fit with Dutch customs, then it should be banned.

Other European nations should be more assertive in asking people to follow the Law of the Land. This sounds very racist and authoritarian. But, I don't know any other way of saying this. The Burqa implies that women should be separated from men in public life. This is not possible in Holland, and it is not possible in any European nation. Probably, it is not possible in other western nations, like the Anglo-Saxon nations of North America and Oceania. The truth is, ladies and gentlemen, that tolerance does not always fit with a country's laws, traditions and customs. You cannot have it both ways. There is a time for tolerance and there is a time for being assertive and asking people to submit to the dominant way of life.

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