SovereignLife Freedom Blog

France is apparently moving closer to banning the burka – the veil that some Muslim women wear over their faces. Reading the readers’ comments on the BBC’s “have your say” section shows a remarkable range of opinion – for and against.

Actually, this provides an interesting test for the concept of freedom – a sort of barometer if you will.

On a personal level I find face veils (either leaving eyes visible or not) to be a very anti-social stance to take. What I mean is, when you can’t see someone’s face then you are very unlikely to strike up a conversation with them, unless you already know them.

I’ve been to a few Islamic countries – Turkey, Dubai and Malaysia. Turkey is secular and you don’t see many veils, or even head scarfs. Dubai is a mixture. Malaysia is multicultural and only the Malay women wear head scarfs, but not face coverings. However, in Malaysia there are a good number of Arabic tourists (not sure where from) and these women invariably wear the burka. And what I’ve noticed is this: while their behaviour in public, with their husbands and children, is quite normal – there is a definite barrier caused by such a code of dress which prevents you from showing any “normal” friendship. You feel locked out.

However, this proposed ban is not about that, but whether the government should be able to dictate clothing.

I think the answer is simple: uphold property rights. I think Moslem women should be free to wear the burka if they so choose – in public. However, when it comes to holding down a job or being able to go enter certain premises, then the decision is entirely (or should be) up to the property owners themselves.

Example: if an airline deems it an issue to allow face-covered women on its planes, then it should be free to ban them – in the same way many retail and banking outlets prohibit the entrance of men with any form of face covering.

A property owner may have valid or even invalid reasons for either admitting or not admitting a veil-wearing woman, but that is his or her prerogative.

So how to apply the principle of property ownership to the proposed burka ban by France? Simple, any employer (private or even government) has the right to stipulate the dress code, so has the right to either ban or not ban burkas.

In such a case, it would logically follow that the French government’s powers should only extend to their own employment situations – in government departments. And this is indeed what they may intend doing.