FRANCE : Parliament has just voted to ban the wearing of the veil in public places. The law forbids the concealment of the face in a public place. It will be ratified by the Conseil Constitunionel and should come into force next spring.
I’m wondering how you stand if you wear one of those full face balaclavas or a Mickey Mouse mask???
Interesting issue! The veil is not a religous requirement for muslim women. They often choose to wear a scarf over their heads or sometimes no cover at all, though this can be frowned upon. It is a cultural issue, I think originally designed to subjugate women centuries ago the idea is now sold to Muslims & westerners as a muslim religous symbol. By all means wear the veil if you must, but please accept that in a Christian country hiding your identity is suspicious & not allowed, much like many christian habits are not permitted in Muslim countries. As for a child in a mask made at school I think common sense would prevail!
I believe wearing a cross is not allowed in French schools. Like the veil, wearing one is not a religious requirement but wearers probably feel uncomfortable without.
What about wearing a viel for religous purposes? Vacance or not!!!
That really must have been terrifying Tracy. I’m just thinking about people on demos and so on who perhaps don’t want to be identified by their employers or even people just messing about on a Saturday night or mardi gras/carnival??? Is there a lower age limit? What if your 12 year old makes a mask in the art class and wants to wear it in the street…
Apparently the law specifically forbids all types of face covering, this happens to include the veil, therefore it is not specifically anti-Islamic.
~So, if you decide to wear a Mickey Mouse mask, a balaclava, a motorcycle helmet (when not actually on your motorbike) or a veil, you will be obliged to remove it.
And in this day and age of cowardice and terrorism, quite right too! I am thinking also about the IRA in the past, I was in Ireland during the time of the hunger strikes and quite frankly the sight of all those masked men approaching was terrifying. If you believe in something, stand up and be counted, don’t hide behind a mask.