Banning the veil  

The debate on the veil explodes again. The Canadian Government says no-one can become a Canadian citizen if they insist on wearing a veil while taking the oath of allegiance. The Toronto Star says this is discriminatory. The paper suggests the veil lifting could be done in private, perhaps in front of a female judge. The Star claims veiled women already show their faces in private to agents of the State. “We know of no cases In Canada where women have refused to show their faces to obtain passports, driver’s licences and other documents. Why should administering a citizenship oath be so problematic?” Co-incidentally, the Supreme Court of Canada is wrestling with a case where a Muslim woman alleging sexual assault by male relatives will only take the stand if veiled. If she is ordered to remove the veil – which she wears for religious reasons - she will refuse and the case will...