Paris, June 20: The French government appeared divided, over a proposal to ban the burka, a loose outfit covering the whole body from head to toe and worn by some Muslim women.
“If it were determined that wearing the burka is a submissive act, and that it is contrary to republican principles, well naturally parliament would have to drawn the necessary conclusions,” Government Spokesman Luc Chatel said, reported.
Chatel, who welcomed the proposal, has not rule out the possibility of passing a law in this regard.
“Why not,” he wondered.
Communist MP Andre Gerin is spearheading the drive to set up a parliamentary commission to look into what he described as a growing number of women donning the burka in France.
His proposal is backed by some 58 MPs, many of whom are from President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party.
The lawmakers are calling for a special inquiry into whether women who wear the burka or the niqab undermine French secularism and women’s rights.
It is expected to come up for a vote in the National Assembly soon.
If the lower house agrees to set up the commission, it would draft a report to be released no later than November 30.
Muslim community leaders say that burka remains a rare exception among France’s nearly seven million Muslims, the biggest Muslim minority in Europe.
There are no figures on the number of women who wear the full-body covering in France and whether it is on the rise.
Tension
But Immigration and Integration Minister Eric Besson warned that banning burka would stir tensions in France.
“We need to counter the wearing of the burka with education and dialogue,” Besson told Europe 1 radio.
“A law would be inefficient and create tensions that we don’t need at this time.”
Besson, a former Socialist, said France had already gone far enough in imposing restrictions on wearing veils in government offices and schools.
France’s Muslims have already accused lawmakers of wasting time by focusing on a fringe phenomenon, warning that the move would stigmatize the Muslim minority.
Last year, the State Council, the country’s top administrative court, refused to grant French citizenship to a burqa-donned Moroccan woman on the grounds that her practices were incompatible with French laws on secularism and gender equality.
In 2004, France passed a controversial law banning the wearing of hijab at schools and public places.
US President Barack Obama earlier this month criticized the French ban on hijab as a violation of personal freedoms.
-Agencies