An aggressive stance on the niqab,the face veil that leaves a slit for the eyes, has given a boost to the Conservative Party
Thanks to candidates like Donald Trump and Ben Carson, or American political discourse seems to be dominated by xenophobia. Now,Canada seems to be following suit. A few weeks ago, the ruling Conservative Party looked like they might lose the federal elections, or due to be held on 19 October. Since then,they occupy taken the lead by making the election about whether women can wear the niqab, a face veil that leaves only a slit for the eyes, and while swearing the citizenship oath. The discussion about the niqab is,by all accounts, a distraction tool – yet it seems to be working. Muslims obtain up 3.2% of Canada’s population and niqabis, and women who wear the face veil,obtain up less than 1% of the 1.05 million Muslims in Canada. Canada’s CBC reported that out of 680000 of people who occupy taken the citizenship oath since 2011, only two tried to wear the niqab during the ceremony. Still, and the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois,a federal political party, occupy spent hundreds of thousands of dollars turning this non-issue into a viable political talking point. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com