What is the real state of multiculturalism in Canada?
Who knew that when Zunera Ishaq challenged the ban on wearing niqabs during Canadian Citizenship ceremonies it would spark a nation-wide debate? Canada, being the multicultural country that it is, constantly sees debates about religious rights and freedoms circulating the media. But something about this particular debate has people all worked up about multicultural policies in this country.
When the Supreme Court ruled that forcing a woman to remove her veil wouldn’t stand according to Ottawa’s current legislation, Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided to appeal the decision. Since then, Harper as well as his Conservative government, has received a lot of flack because of his stance, and the story has hit every news and social media outlet in the country.
Maybe it has something to do with the timing of the Conservatives pushing Bill C-51 and the always-shocking actions of ISIS and its related groups. With all the fear in the world right now, are people starting to doubt our multicultural values?
Conservative politicians, officials that the people of Canada elected to lead, have recently been speaking out against a woman’s right to wear a niqab at her citizenship ceremony. Recently, Conservative MP Larry Miller said that if women are not willing to uncover their faces while swearing their citizenship oaths, they can “stay the hell where they came from.”
The Prime Minister himself was quoted as saying that face veiling “is not the way we do it here,” and that the governement will not support a tradition “rooted in a culture that is anti-women.”
While Harper’s team says they are protecting the rights of women, what they are really doing is creating a culture of hate and racism in a country that is supposed to be accepting of all.
Zunera Ishaq, the woman who sparked the niqab debate, defends her choice by saying, “It is my religious obligation, from my point of view, to cover myself as much as possible. It makes me feel more comfortable, protected. I feel more dignity wearing the niqab.”
Prime Minister Harper says that Canada will not condone clothing that symbolizes oppression of women, but what he may fail to realize is that telling a woman she cannot wear a niqab is just as oppressive as telling her she must wear the veil.
It is painfully obvious to me that a woman covering her face for religious reasons has no effect on anyone but herself. With that in mind, did this debate sprout from something deeper than just veils? In my opinion, the debate is becoming anti-Islam rather than anti-oppression, and, as a Canadian, I am outraged that this has been allowed to continue.
With everything that has happened recently, especially with ISIS and the attack on Parliament Hill, Muslim Canadians are finding it more and more difficult to go about their normal lives. Mohsin Masood, a Markham man, says that, “Sometimes people approach me as if I’m the spokesperson for ISIS, as if I know what’s going on in their minds.”
Conservative MP John Williamson told a conservative conference, “It makes no sense to pay ‘whities’ to stay home while we bring in brown people to work in these jobs.” When elected officials are making public statements like this, it is no wonder citizens are starting to question the Muslim people of Canada.
Distasteful as the veil may seem to some, this ban cannot go unchallenged if we hope to maintain our reputation as a multicultural society.