THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Wearing a burka can be 'empowering ' and 'dignified' for Mulsim [sic] women, one of the Government’s most senior female ministers has said.
The controversial remarks by Caroline Spelman, who as Environment Secretary is the second most powerful woman in the Cabinet, were immediately described as “moronic” and “bizarre”.
She is also likely to face anger from back bench Conservative MPs, some of whom have called for the burka – the covering which some Muslim women adopt in public to hide their face, hair and body – to be banned outside of private homes.
Mrs Spelman made her remarks when asked in an interview what she thought of the recent decision by French MPs to introduce a law outlawing the burka in public.
Critics of the ban, including her fellow ministers, have argued that while they do not like to see women covering their faces, particularly if forced to do so by male relatives, legislation is heavy-handed and contrary to the principle of freedom of expression.
But the Environment Secretary’s suggestion that wearing the burka could in fact be seen as a feminist statement will raise eyebrows.
She said that she held her view “as a woman,” and claimed that her experience of visiting Afghanistan had persuaded her that “the burka confers dignity”.
Her remarks are particularly controversial given that before the Taliban was driven out of large parts of Afghanistan with the help of British troops, millions of women were forced under threat of physical violence to wear the veil in public.
British soldiers still gauge the level of threat from the Taliban in a particular area by assessing whether local women feel the need to cover themselves.
But Mrs Spelman insisted that the burka was “empowering”. She told Sky News: “I take a strong view on this, actually. Caroline Spelman: wearing burka can be ‘empowering’ >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Sunday, July 18, 2010
SKY NEWS: A senior female Cabinet minister says Britain should not ban the burka. Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman told Sky News a ban would be "un-British".
