Occupy Awareness: To Wear or Not Wear A Niqab (or any piece of clothing) Should Be A Woman's Choice

Harper Government Loses Appeal. Niqab Ban at Citizenship Ceremonies Found Unlawful AGAIN.

This should NOT be an election issue - Niqab women taking the citizenship oath are very small numbers; but the Bloc Québécois and the CPC are trying to appeal to the xenophobe in all of us.

Even among progressives, there are a few rabid pro -'Ban the Niqab' advocates.


A walk through the streets of cold Canadian cities reveals citizens are very much in favor of face-covering.

They are few, but they're often the loudest and the most assertive, creating the illusion they are many, with their 'Ban the Niqab' opinions. Most often, their opinions are based on a misunderstanding of the facts combined with the mainstream media's focus to 'sell' the news and reduce complex discussions to a few catchy headlines that stimulate the Amygdala part of our brains, the lizard fear center.

Rather than typing out the same argument in every social media discussion, I'm going to break the whole debate down into numbered sections easy to use as a quick go-to for referencing and getting people to examine their prejudices against the Niqab.

Overheard CPC Candidate: "Damn, then leggy waitresses could sue so
they don't have to wear those awesome high heels. We can't allow that."

I. The Facts:
Is the Niqab Ban Legal? - Short Answer: NO - Long Answer: NO, not yet and will likely never be legal.

The Harper Appeal was based on this initial ruling in the Federal Court Trial Division (see the chart below) against the CPC Government: Ishaq v. Canada.Federal Court Decision.February 6, 2015

Jason Kenney who was immigration minister at the time in 2011, unilaterally made changes to the citizenship operations manual. "Not only was the policy change he made unauthorized, it's inconsistent with existing laws and with the Charter." - Lorne Waldman, a co-counsel (lawyer) for Ishaq (the plaintiff), Jason Kenney defends niqab ban at citizenship ceremonies on Twitter
Judges normally consider charter violations last, after they have considered other violations. Niqab controversy: Judge struck down ban without referring to charter.
In his ruling, Judge Boswell did not even consider any charter issues, focusing not on whether the woman's rights had been violated, but rather the legality of the ban. The ban violated the law - the Citizenship Act - by making it mandatory that Canadian Immigration and Citizenship judges enforce the ban.

The Harper government in it's 'wisdom', decided to appeal the decision to the Federal Appeal Court of Canada. They lost the appeal and were subsequently assessed with court costs: Federal Court of Appeal decides against Harper Government issuing judgement promptly allowing enough time for Ms. Ishaq to obtain her Canadian citizenship status and vote in the Federal election Oct. 19, 2015.
The CPC plan now is to amend the Citizenship Act to include the Niqab ban in order to appeal the Federal Court of Appeal decision in Canada's highest court - the Supreme court of Canada.

September 16th Jason Kenney of the CPC announced the Harper government would take the matter to the Supreme Court, while vowing to reintroduce the Niqab ban within 100 days of re-election. LET'S MAKE SURE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN!
The Conservatives asked the courts to suspend the judgment while awaiting word from the Supreme Court of Canada. http://tinyurl.com/nve7p8t
So far the estimates are that the Harper Government has spent $257,000, just fighting this one case. Wouldn't that money be better spent giving aid to women's groups that help stop violence against women?

The Real Strategy behind the Harper Government 'Ban the Niqab' efforts.- Chantal Hiebert - The Thin Edge of the Wedge

Identification Procedures are Intact.

All citizenship candidates are required to comply with identification requirements.

Prospective citizens are required to provide multiple proofs of their identity - including removal of face coverings, in private, in front of a citizenship official - before they get to the final, ceremonial step in the process: taking the oath.
All Canadian passport holders are required to have their passport photo taken without a face-covering, except full-bearded men. (Coincidentally, we don't ask men to shave their full-faced beards.)

What's he hiding in that beard?
Citizenship candidates are required to provide pertinent immigration documents; proof of language proficiency; education records; copies of the biographical pages (which include name, photo, address, date of birth) of all passports and travel documents; two official photos in which "full facial features" are visible; and two pieces of personal identification, at least one of which must have a photo. The RCMP and CSIS run checks on all applicants to ensure there are no criminal or security reasons to preclude citizenship. If necessary, applicants can be required to provide fingerprints and court documents. Baloney Meter: Is Niqab ban needed to prove citizenship applicant's ID?
In fact Niqab wearing women realize they need to remove their veil whenever their identification is necessary and do comply.

Citizenship Oath-taking Ceremony

The citizen oath-taking ceremony is just that - a ceremony. Identity has already been confirmed for passport purposes and a photo has been taken WITHOUT a face covering.
Since identification has already been determined, and the oath-taking ceremony is just that - a ceremony - there is no real need to uncover one's face.
Even so, prior to the CPC changing the policy in 2011, Niqab wearing women were allowed to take the oath in private in front of a Citizen and Immigration official.

We accommodated wearing the Niqab to citizenship swearing in ceremonies before, it seems obvious that this CPC effort is just a dog whistle for Islamophobia.

Canada's History.

Canada is known as a Mosaic as opposed to the United States Melting Pot.

Canada is purported to be a multi-cultural society - a Mosaic. Our many different cultures and religions fit together like a mosaic. As a citizen of Canada, you are not expected to give up or assimilate your culture or religion; ie Canadian citizens keep their distinct cultures.
The U.S. is a Melting pot. As a citizen of the United States, you are expected to adopt American culture as your own; ie US citizens meld their culture to one American identity.

In reality Canada is a colonial occupier nation.

White settlers came to this land (Turtle Island), which was already populated by Indigenous people (over 600 separate nations), and almost wiped out whole nations of people. Indigenous Population estimates as high as 2 million at time of contact (16th century), were whittled down to between 100,000 to 125,000 by 1867.
White settler culture intended to wipe out Indigenous culture completely through assimilation and the use of residential schools.

Canada's history on other Cultural and Religious symbols.

The Turban and the Kirpan were both finally accepted after similar debate. It is now common place to see men wearing turbans, even in place of the RCMP hat, a very nationalist symbol.

Canadians Born in Canada

Immigrants know more about Canada than most Canadians.

Those of us lucky enough to be born here, never have to take a citizenship swearing-in ceremony and so never have to worry about our citizenship being taken away or questioned because we wore something the Conservatives think is unacceptable.

II. Justifications for Banning the Niqab and their Refutations.

'Face Covering is an oppressive religious practice forced on women, it's anti-feminist'.

"Face Covering is an Oppressive Religious Practice forced on women"

There are many Niqab wearing women who say they choose to wear the niqab, for them it brings them closer to their spirituality. Just as there are separate customs for females and males in almost every culture/religion, the same is true for Islam. 'My Niqab Gave Me a Voice' An Open Letter to PM Harper.
There are many types of dress that are usually worn by only 1 gender and not the other, yet we don't question these customs. eg: dresses, high heels, bras, neck-ties, BEARDS.
For those women who are forced to wear a face-covering, we could spend the $$ wasted in court battles on ways to help them get out of their abusive relationships or at least get family counseling, the same way that we would handle violence or abuse against women in any relationship and in any situation.

"it's anti-feminist'.

Actually, Feminism is all about the right for women to have their CHOICES respected. Forcing someone to remove a part of their clothing in public is anti-feminist, as is forcing someone to wear a particular piece of clothing.
Yes some may be forced to wear the Niqab, but for many it's their personal choice. As Tom Mulcair stated: "I understand that many view the niqab as a symbol of the oppression of women, And on that, let me be clear: No one has the right to tell a woman what she must -- or must not -- wear. It is not by depriving them of their Canadian citizenship and their rights that we can help them,".

Harper the Opportunist Feminist and His True Objectives with the Niqab

'People should not be obscuring their identity public citizenship ceremony. It's disrespectful to one's fellow citizens. It's impossible to verify if someone is saying their oath while their face is covered' - Jason Kenney: - on appealing the niqab decision to the Supreme Court

'People should not be obscuring their identity public citizenship ceremony.'

People unveil, identities are verified and passports are issued in separate steps. The public citizenship ceremony - is just that, only ceremony.

'It's disrespectful to one's fellow citizens'

That's an opinion.
Many would argue that it's not only disrespectful, but also dictatorial to force any person to remove a veil in public that they always wear in public.

'It's impossible to verify if someone is saying their oath while their face is covered'

From the initial Federal court decision: //According to the Applicant, it would be easy for a female citizenship judge or official to take those women’s oaths in private if there was doubt that they recited the oath, which is what used to be done before the Policy was adopted. Alternately, women like the Applicant could be seated closer to the officials or have a microphone attached to them, so that the officials could hear them taking the oath. The Applicant says that these methods are significantly less intrusive and better at ensuring that a woman wearing a niqab took the oath, and the Respondent has offered no justification for adopting a much stricter Policy which requires removal of face coverings.//: http://tinyurl.com/pynvfa8

The procedure before the CPC policy change, was to have citizenship applicants who wear the Niqab, take their oath in private. What reason do the Conservatives have for requiring the oath be taken in public?

'Islam is a misogynist religion'

It could be argued that almost all religions and most western culture are misogynist in nature.
That is someone's opinion so it really doesn't matter, what matters are the opinions of the women who are alleged victims of misogynist religion.
If Mr. Harper was truly concerned about the oppression of women wearing the Niqab, then surely the more effective approach would be to out the oppressors, rather then shame the alleged victims.

'I am all about 'equality', if a Muslim women can wear a Niqab, I want to have that right to'

If you are all about equality than perhaps we should require that every citizen born on Canadian soil or not should be required to go through the citizenship process.
If a white Canadian Male wants to wear the Niqab in public all the time, taking it on as their clothing - please do, and I will advocate for your right to wear what you deem to be essential clothing when in public.
It's useful to learn the difference between Equality and Equity. This graphic gives a simple and eloquent explanation. The tall person demanding Equality would take the box regardless of the fact that he/she didn't need it. The tall person demanding Equity would gladly give his/her box to the shortest person so that they could all watch the game equally.

'There is nothing in the Quran that says a woman must wear a face covering'

Wearing the veil is personal religious choice. There is nothing in the bible that requires all Christians to wear a necklace around their neck depicting Jesus Christ's murder, yet many do. How we choose to express our spirituality is a personal choice. Listen to Anna Marie Tremonti on CBC's The Current interview:2 niqabs and a hijab: 3 Muslim women talk about the face covering
The Canadian Charter of Rights states that we have Fundamental Freedoms which include the freedom of religion, belief, opinion and expression so that pretty much covers wearing the Niqab whether or not it is deemed to be a religious requirement:

freedom of conscience and religion;
freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
freedom of peaceful assembly; and
freedom of association.

'By standing up for a woman's choice in wearing the Niqab you are actually doing Harper's Work'

This is something out of 1984 - "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." Advocating for a women's choice and our charter rights is helping Harper.

'Religion and State should remain separated'

Yes absolutely, the State (government) should NOT be legislating what people wear, or do not wear, regardless if it has anything to do with religion.

'White Male Atheists should be allowed to wear the Niqab - True Equality mean the same rules for Everyone'

See D 1, 2, and 3 above.

'So playing devil's advocate, if a man chooses to wear a balaclava, should his 'rights' be protected as well?'

See D 1, 2, and 3 above.

'How are these new Canadian citizens supposed to be identified?'

They have picture ID that shows their face without a veil, if they are asked for identification (and the request is reasonable), they have to lift their veil.

'If they are coming to Canada they should act like Canadians.'

How do Canadians act? I see people wearing turbans, kirpans, sarees, sidelocks, kāṣāyas, dreadlocks, hot pink hair, etc.
Too bad the indigenous people didn't make us comply with their rules when we arrived:
"Welcome to Turtle Island, here are the rules - respect mother nature and each other. Meegwetch"