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We should ban the burqa

After Nicolas Sarkozy declared that the burqa was ‘not welcome’ in France, and judges deliberated on whether to allow it in Britain’s hospitals, schools and courtrooms, governments around Europe have been considering whether to forbid Muslim women from concealing their faces behind a veil in public. Those opposed to the burqa, including a good many feminists, see the garment as a rejection of liberal Western values and a symbol of how Islam oppresses women. They point out that it isn’t a requirement of the Koran, and that in two famous cases, it was even used as a disguise for fleeing criminals. But, others counter, just because the burqa gives us a sense of discomfort, we shouldn’t deprive Muslims of the basic freedom to dress as they please.