Euthanasia, abortion and the freedom of religious practice are all important moral issues for the human conscience. Nonetheless, in the United Kingdom, public debates on these topics struggle to achieve a maturity level worthy of the Year 9 Citizenship lesson in which many of us first considered the arguments. Everyone had an opinion, even the thick kid regurgitating his father’s understanding of the Sun’s editorial stance, and we all had to listen to each other talk bollocks once a fortnight about something nobody really ever understood. Therefore, upon waking up to the British media’s decision to collectively reconsider whether Britain should ban the burqa from public life, I had to express my displeasure.
There are several things that annoy me about this debate. Firstly, nobody seems to be able to conclusively define what we are arguing about. The post-colonial Twitterati think it’s a race issue, the feminists think it’s a women’s issue, and as always, the protectors of England and Englishness use it to explain why Muslims don’t fit in. Are we simply arguing about a piece of cloth or is there something else going on? Is Britain’s stance on the burqa a reflection of our nation’s attitude towards British Muslims as a whole? Since we last had this debate in 2006, we have still not been able to decide.
Secondly, because it’s such a charged issue, people are overly invested in their viewpoints and readily resort to hyperbole when confronted with differing opinions. If you want to ban the burqa, you probably are not a racist. If you do not want to ban the burqa, you probably are not a “Lefty twat.” Please leave your George Galloway impressions at the door.
Thirdly, the burqa debate is yet another excuse for MPs to indulge in a few rounds of political football. Now I am not trying to belittle the issue, I am just painfully aware that nothing happened as a consequence of the debate in 2006 despite several key MPs expressing a desire to restrict its use. And, unsurprisingly, I imagine that nothing will happen as a result of the latest round of burqa fuelled rhetoric.
For what it’s worth, I think every citizen should have to show their face in public. Even so, I am more annoyed by the never-ending drivel associated with this subject than the yearly occurrence of seeing a lady wearing a burqa on the streets of Norwich.
I am sure the debate will muddle on for years, with commentators and public figures polluting our senses with their recycled, unoriginal opinions. Even so, please rise above it and maybe, focus on something more important?
“For what it’s worth, I think every citizen should have to show their face in public.”
It’s one thing to argue for banning burqas in courts, but anyone who thinks I should be banned from wearing clothes in public that conceal my face – be it a burqa, a hoodie or a fluorescent pink morphsuit – can go pleasure themselves with the bristly end of a hairbrush.