Urge your MP to vote against Burka ban bill at tomorrow’s second reading

One Society Many Cultures are calling on you to urge your local MP to vote against the Private Members Bill proposed by Philip Hollobone MP for Kettering, that would ban Muslim women from wearing the full face veil in public. The second reading of the Face Coverings Bill will take place on Friday 3 December and will be the first opportunity to debate and vote on proposals in the bill.

You can find your MP here:

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

At the first reading a cross party consensus emerged against introducing such legislation and a strong feeling that it stands against British values of freedom of religious and cultural expression.

In July this year, Hollobone faced opposition for saying he would refuse to meet a veiled constituent. He was warned by lawyers for the human rights organisation Liberty, that the Equality Act obliges him to avoid such discrimination, who wrote to him saying they would be happy to represent any of his constituents he refused to meet because they were veiled.
In March Northamptonshire Race Equality Council contacted police after Hollobone described the Burka as “the religious equivalent of going around with a paper bag over your head with two holes for the eyes”, during a debate in Parliament.

Opposing bans on religious dress, will be one of the themes of the Speak out against racism and Islamophobia conference, on Saturday 11 December.

Today Shabana Mahmood MP, Shadow Home Office Minister said:

“I believe that people have the right to dress as they wish according to their personal preference, culture or religion. This private member’s bill is ridiculous, how is it sensible or practical for the government to tell people how to dress? Where do you draw the line?”
James Welch Legal Director for Liberty, said:

“Religion is a perfectly legitimate subject for debate but in the UK at least, it is not a lawful basis for discrimination. Here the struggle for religious freedom was vital to the struggle for democracy itself. Common sense and decency suggest that neither freedom nor integration is achieved by cutting people off from their elected representatives or arresting them for walking down the street.”


Sabby Dhalu, One Society Many Cultures Secretary said:
“We are pleased that all three major parties spoke out against bans on Muslim women’s right to wear the Burka and Niqab. This must be reflected in the discussion and vote at tomorrow’s second reading. We should be clear about the impact of such legislation: even without legislation banning religious dress, the discussion and discourse in the press following bans in other European countries has led to unprecedented hate crimes and violent attacks on Muslim women across Britain. We urge people to lobby their MPs to vote against this bill.”