Don't ban the Burqa, Ban the Bercow

If Belgium is not already Europe’s Joker then their attempt to ban the wearing of the Burqa surely puts them in pole position for the award. If the accounts of their proposed legislation is correct, then they propose to ban the

wearing of any clothing in public which partially or completely covers the face and prevents recognition. This would of course mean that anyone who dons a fancy dress costume, whether on the way to a party or as a means of selling burgers or whatever, could face a fine. Cyclists protecting themselve

s from traffic pollution by wearing a face mask would fall fowl of the law, as would the motorcyclist, the hill walker or anyone else who follws mum’s advice to wrap up warm. The common practice of attending peaceful protests while wearing, for instance, a paper mask of the Belgium equivalent of Gordon Brown, god forbid, could be rounded up and taken to court, a much more serious threat than all of the Belgium women currently wearing the burqa or niqab.

This nonsense is not only limited to Belgium as similar legislation is being discussed in both France and the Netherlands. The picture of a burqa clad woman being arrested whilst walking through the red light district and its nightly window display of half naked women comes to mind.

This rise of intolerance across Europe is very worrying. Only last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a burqa ban declaring that “The all-body veil is contrary to the dignity of women," and that "The answer is to ban it”.

Although having witnessed very few burqa clad women I do struggle with this statement, especially against the constant spectacle of half dressed women of all ages that appear on the streets these days. At least the burqa clad women I have seen have been behaving in a dignified manner, rather than shouting and swearing as they swagger, or stagger, down the street.I would much sooner spend time debating just what it is that makes women want to follow this custom. Of course, if it is due to parental or community pressure then that has to be addressed. No one should be forced to wear any garment any more than they should be banned from doing so.

It is, I think, reasonable to expect that people that you need to associate with should be appropriately dressed. I would have no objection to the person at the cash desk at Tesco being veiled though I expect that the women who are persuaded to go about in this way are not going to seek such employment. I would, however, be uneasy about taking advice from a professional of whom I could not assess the body language, or recognise later when every thing has gone pear shaped.

In France there appears to be even a campaign to prevent women from wearing a headscarf and girls are already banned from wearing these at school. I hope that the French Police are at this moment rounding up the women I last saw selling lace in those quaint little Breton villages we all love to photograph.

I am much more concerned about the rise of the BERCOW, than the burqa. Whilst the latter cover everything other than the eyes, Speaker Bercow is clearly pulling the wool over our eyes in his new role. The thought that someone who was involved in the MP expenses racket and, allegedly, double flipped his second home allowance should be now be in such a position defeats me. The expression “lunatics in charge of the asylum” cannot go within a mile of summing this up. Until Bercow is thrown out with the rest of the dishonourables, Parliament will not deserve any trust, respect or support from the British electorate.