Women with Hijab permitted to take citizenship oath in Canada

Ottawa: Those women who want to take oath to accept citizenship in Canada can now wear face veils in Canadian Courts. This cancels the ban imposed by the ruling party as a policy decision in the wake of elections.

PM of Canada, Stephen Harper told that the earlier decision issued in February in the case of Zunera Ishaq a resident of Toronto was “unacceptable” and had appealed to defend his law.

A Canadian Court maintained that this ban curtails Ishaq’s religious freedom which is guaranteed under Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a position the appeals court upheld.

The court dismissed the appeal with compensation. The judgment was pronounced by a panel of three judges. Ms. Ishaq is eligible to take citizenship oath and can cast her vote in the Canadian Parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on 19th October this year.

Ms. Ishaq hails from Pakistan, she arrived in Canada in 2008 and successfully completed her citizenship test in 2013 but she refused to participate in the oath taking ceremony because she did not want to do it without Hijab which was mandatory under the Canadian law of 2011.

The Conservative government of Canada had not yet decided to respond to this judgment. It reserves the right to file an appeal against this judgment in the Supreme Court of Canada.