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Today’s Blog Post
Niqabs forever! Naema Ahmed, the niqab-wearing woman
(The above illustration of a niqab is by Terry Mosher,cartoonist, of the Motreal Gazzette)
You may have caught that news in Canada.
Margaret Wente wrote in Globe and Mail newspaper that…
Quote – “The case of Naema Ahmed, the niqab-wearing woman who was expelled from a French-language class in Montreal, has turned into a cause célèbre across the country. It is a fascinating story about reasonable accommodation, competing rights and where we ought to draw the line on tolerance in a democratic society.
Actually, it's two stories. There's a French version and an English version, and they're completely different.
In French, the problem is clearly Ms. Ahmed – a stubborn hard-liner whose unreasonable demands people bent over backward to accommodate. In English, the problem is clearly the authorities, who hounded her and unreasonably denied her rights. The subtext is that Quebec society has an attitude problem. It is intolerant of immigrants and minorities, and the politicians are pandering to the base.”
End quote..
I first caught the story on Thursday as a CBC interviewer tried to get a word and question in edgewise between an Islamic Leader in Canada and a very strong French Speaking Canadian Quebecer who is a University Prof in Montreal. Talk about a hoot. The Interviewer who usually controls the interview she does was bamboozled with fast talking, rip roaring participants… who were speaking in English as their second language – so fast that it was hard to catch what was said.
So the story is all about Naema Ahmed, the niqab-wearing woman that caused a whole lot of stir in her French Class.
You should note that she is not stupid or some lady dominated by her man. She is a pharmacist that has Egyptian roots – but now lives in Quebec. She very likely has a plan.
You should note too, if you live outside of Quebec, that the French Language and the way that it is forced on to the residents of Quebec is far more Domineering than some group of people forcing their women to dress a certain way.
Quebec insists that its people become like them in every way.
In Ontario it isn’t like that. You can be who you want to be as long as you are not hurting someone else. If you chose to hurt someone else – we have laws about this.
But then in Quebec their phobia of possibly losing their language is so great that they do have laws to protect themselves from evil, non-French speaking people groups. “You MUST LEARN FRENCH TO LIVE IN OUR PROVINCE” – plain and simply stated!
In my shop I wear a niqab. It is necessary when I use some very dusty machines. I will not breath tomorrow if I do not.
In the Hospital I am FORCED to wear the niqab when I go into some rooms where there is a highly contagious disease… and sometimes the entire hospital is that way with severe outbreaks.
And if someone chooses to rob a bank they generally use a niqab to do so.
Canadians are not ignorant about niqabs – we just didn’t know the word until, the niqab-wearing woman, Naema Ahmed showed up.
In the first report on the CBC Radio I heard that she insisted on turning her back to the men in her class. How silly of her!? Then I found out that out of 20 students taking the class there were only 3 men.
A gal turning her back on men is nothing new. In fact now you will find it happening all the time in the mall… because of the clothing that some of the gals are wearing are emphasizing their Butt/Behind and they want people to see that highlighted feature. (A whole lot weird when some are as big as they are – but that is another Blog about Butts.)
I do not have a problem with Naema Ahmed wearing her niqab or turning her back on me. Duh! It is her choice. BUT if she is my pharmacist she will need to take the veil down for this old geezer because much of my hearing is lip reading. Bad hearing and loud machines do that to you ears. And if Naema Ahmed expects me to read the puffs on the veil with her speaking to me – she better have another person with cute lips to talk to me.
In Canada we have freedom to be who you want to be. Don’t we? So what is the bid deal?
In Canada we also have some really ugly people that need a niqab… but we do not make them wear one.
It is a spiritual/religious thing that “those people” do in their country – we are CHRISTIAN (kind of) and they should recognize what we do as the normal and then do it.
In the Bible, for all the Bible Thumping niqab hating good Christians, Moses wore a niqab after he came off the mountain when he was in the presence of God. They forced him to do so because no one could look at him!
Canada has its own way to take care of niqab wearing people and it is not language or culture. It is the Bugs that we have here. Get a mosquito below the niqab or a bee… and it will come of…. quickly.
As Canadians we are really funny. So why wouldn’t we allow more really funny people to become part of us? Surely we are big enough for that?
I have thought of wearing one of my niqab to church this Sunday to let people know that I am a free man. Hmmmm?
~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/
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Sources:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/two-solitudes-and-the-niqab/article1499299/
2 comments:
I don't want to defend the government's decision on the niqab, because I don't agree with it.
But I think you're way off base criticizing Quebec's efforts to protect the French language.
You write:
"[T]he French Language and the way that it is forced on to the residents of Quebec is far more Domineering than some group of people forcing their women to dress a certain way."
That is simply not true.
First, you should note that there is no legal requirement to speak French to live in Quebec. It is a societal value, and the government tries to encourage it in ways that have been, with only a couple of - in my view - relatively minor exceptions in the past, respectful of human rights.
Second, the view that people should speak French does not mean that they should not also speak other languages. What it means is that French should be the common language used between individuals belonging to different language groups, and when addressing society as a whole. The government does not seek to assimilate anglophones, but rather to encourage allophones, through non-coercive means, to use French rather than English in their public interactions when these are in an official language.
English plays that role in the rest of Canada, and because of its strong position, that happens naturally without government intervention. In Quebec, English used to play that role, and it still does to a large extent. This is an injustice, considering that 80% of the population is francophone and only 10% anglophone, and that it is the result of the historically superior socioeconomic status of anglophones.
Third, the government services provided in English to Quebec anglophones are far superior to those provided in French in any other province except New Brunswick. Only in Quebec does a minority language community have such an extensive array of education, health, legal and social services in their language, all provided by taxpayers of whom 80% are francophone.
Fourth, you can live in English in Montreal in a way that you cannot live in French anywhere else. It is far easier for a unilingual anglophone in Montreal to find employment than it is for a unilingual francophone in, say, Ottawa, despite the fact that the sizes of the minority communities are similar.
Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, the historical advantages enjoyed by the English language in Quebec force francophones to be bilingual for many jobs. This is a situation that no other majority language community in Canada has to endure.
To illustrate the last point, 44% of francophones in the Montreal CMA use English at work regularly, although only 12 % of the population is anglophone. In comparison, in the Sudbury CMA, where 27% of the population is francophone, only 9% of anglophones regularly use French at work. (2006 Census) It is sometimes said that this has to do with the predominant position of English in North America, but everyday experience tells us that this state of affairs has much more to do with interactions among Montrealers themselves than those with outsiders.
If you are so certain that French is "forced" on anglophones in Quebec, then ask yourself - honestly - whether you would rather be an anglophone in Quebec or a francophone in Ontario. I think the answer is obvious.
This is so out of sense...
For this lady, her nikab simply shows her religion, that, in her beloved country... In our country, else than for working purposes, a nikab would be worned to commit a crime...
I don't know how you would feel about it but I definitely would feel a little uncumfortable waiting in line at the bank if the person in front or behind me would be wearing a nikab, a mask or anything of that kind.
This has nothing to do with French issue, for she was in a French lesson class... SO if it was strictly up to that point, everything would be just fine and no one would ask anything else and she's still be in class. This is of a society nature, about what is felt reasonnable or not.
Should anyone tell me it goes against freedom of speech, I'd answer, go in any airport and say BOMB... just for fun... And you'll see that in some cases, common sense takes a step forward.
Finally, imagine yourself in court, trying to tell a judge that this pharmacist sold you something that was bad for you, or diffrent then prescribed. What will you say when the advocate ask you of you recognize the pharmacist if he(she) was wearing a Nikab? I definitely would refuse being served by someone wearing a nikab. You want to wear a Nikab, don't work in public, you want to work in public, don't wear a Nikab... Plain and simple. You want to live in Canada, wear a Nikab at home, no one will mind. Else than that well, live with everything coming with it. Or else well, you still can move to any country where it would be normal for you to wear a Nikab. Only problem is, if you have to wear a Nikab, it is plain close that you will not be able to be a phramacist anyway.
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