French President Nicholas Sarkozy recently asserted, "The issue of the burqa is not a religious issue, it is a question of freedom and of women's dignity."

Once again the concept of freedom escapes an elected politician.  I'll pause now while you express your surprise.

Ready?

Presumably, women in France are not currently forced by the state to wear burqas.  I've seen pictures of them not wearing tops, so I don't think I'm wrong here.  This means that women, even Muslim women, in France are allowed to not wear a burqa.  But now Sarkozy wants to take away the option of wearing a burqa and he's arguing that by reducing the freedom of French women, he's somehow increasing their freedom.

Now, I've seen a few women here in New York wearing burqas and I find them terrifying.  I would have the same reaction to a man walking around in a ski mask as well.

But there isn't and should not be any law against this.  The people of France will lose a modicum of their freedom if Sarkozy is successful in his effort to ban the burqa.

Found via Joe.My.God.  Be sure to check out the comments on his post for a different perspective on this issue.

Posted by: Flibbertigibbet at 06:30 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Category: In the News
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