The niqab debate defies the Canadian Constitution #BarbaricCulturalPractices

#BarbaricCulturalPractices
Choices: thong or no thong

"We want to encourage women to live great lives here."

           –Mayor Nenshi

Jason Kenny CPC Candidate vs. Calgary Mayor Nenshi:

‘This is disgusting and it is time for us to say stop it’: Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi blasts Tories’ niqab ban
“This is unbelievably dangerous stuff. I spoke with a group of mayors and councillors from all over Alberta last week … I stood up and said this is disgusting and it is time for us to say stop it — it’s time for us to say this is enough,” Nenshi said.

Mayor Nenshi
"For Canada to work we have to speak against the voices of intolerance." 

Jason Kenney - Defense Minister

#BarbaricCulturalPractices 

“If anything’s dangerous, it would be legitimizing a medieval tribal custom that treats women as property rather than people,” Kenney, currently running for re-election in Calgary, said in an interview Thursday.

My students preferred their hijabs. We had no kids who wore the full niqab. When they would have basketball practice, with their all-girls teams, they would remove them and relax. They preferred being modest, rather than showing bellies and legs, as other girls did.

Mayor Nenshi's points

1. Of course the polls say that Canadians want the niqab banned, since the Conservatives have turned this issue to political gain.
2. I don't worry about what the polls say when it comes to basic personal rights. It's not about majority rule.
3. It is a basic human dignity. For Canada to work, it means we have to speak against the voices of intolerance and the voices of small-mindedness, wherever we find them. And all Canadians should do that.

'Barbaric cultural practices" a veil?

Canadians should speak out for the kind of Canada they want. Ban it for a 30 second ceremony, or ban it all the time, what is the deal? This violates the Canadian Constitution: freedom to wear a hijab or a turban.

Identity is really important to many of us.

Two Conservative candidates have touted a tipline for the RCMP [Conservatives pledge funds, tip line to combat 'barbaric ... to enforce the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act] if you suspect barbaric cultural behaviour. What does this mean? How judgemental can they be? We have a tipline for domestic violence: 911.

Yet more interference in cultures different than Canada's and wasteful funds: If elected on Oct. 19, the Conservatives would also commit $12 million over four years to help international organizations working abroad to prevent forced marriages of girls and young women, particularly in conflict zones, they said.

#BarbaricCulturalPractices = a veil?

 Let's spend $12 million in Canada to support women's shelters here in Canada, the money that was cut by the Harper government in order to balance their budget. Let's stop offending those whose cultures prefer arranged marriages.

Stephen Harper's War On Women - NOW Toronto Magazine ...

Not that this will surprise those who have tracked this government's record on women's equality since Harper first came to power in 2006. Among its many hits on women was the shutdown of 12 out of 16 Status of Women offices and the entire Court Challenges program, which helped women (as well as members of the LGBT community and those facing physical and mental challenges) fight for their constitutional rights. At the time, Harper referred to those as "left-wing fringe groups."

#BarbaricCulturalPractices
on a beach