Reply #60: I support the part which fines others for forcing them to wear things

[jberryhill]

But we are specifically addressing the part which fines them for wearing something.

Let's be really clear about this -

When we are talking about a law which fines women for wearing a veil, we are defining an offense which ONLY women can commit, and for which ONLY women will be punished.

"to allow them to not engage in religious practices they don't want to"

They have that freedom. Whether they break free of social pressures is the problem of women in abusive relationships the world over, and this thing about veils does nothing to change that.

Yes, if we banned ALL religious practices, it would allow women not to engage in religious practices they don't want to. Believe me, I spent time in rural Utah - there are plenty of women in that boat. But we don't ban religious practices across the board based on that kind of calculation.

Again, will it be legal for me, a man, to wear a veil in France if I want to? Yep.

Will it be legal for a woman? Nope.

This is a law that controls what women can do, and fines them for something which harms nobody.

It is simply the larger community saying, "No, you folks in your community can't control women, only WE can!"

Replacing a community imperative that women must behave a certain way, with a state imperative that women must behave a certain way, is simply re-arranging the furniture.