Burcca and niqab, beyond the far right
Are there women who wear burkas? Yes, you see them, but very few. You see more women wearing niqabs, but they're still few. I see them occasionally in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, where ARA has its offices. And every time I see them, I think we shouldn't allow it. In a woman covered from head to toe, I can see nothing but male domination of women's bodies in the name of religious beliefs that turn her into bait for sin.
Yesterday's interview with Salvador Illa on TV3 was disappointing due to its lack of relevance. The President of the Generalitat said what I predicted he would say yesterday: that he will continue doing what he has been doing, that solutions are not quick, and that it is essential that his investiture partners, Esquerra and Comuns, not create insurmountable obstacles to passing the budget. He also stated that there will be neither changes in the government nor a vote of confidence. He raised his voice slightly to say that "enough with the anti-Catalan sentiment," and added that he, personally, didn't like the burka. And with that, the interview ended, and good night.
That at a time like this, fraught with problems in public services and with days of near collapse, an interview with the President of the Generalitat is deemed irrelevant is bad news. It's bad news for the President and the Government, but above all, it's bad news for the country. Because when train service has to be provided by road and doctors and teachers are out on the streets, we expect announcements, leadership, and decisions as critical as the problems we are experiencing. And instead, what the Catalan Government offers is a predictability that it hopes will be interpreted as firmness. Isla, who came to the presidency after the weariness and frustration of the tumultuous years of the independence process, is making governance the sole policy.
Meanwhile, the current political debate is about the burka, the full-face veil, the woman covered from head to toe, who can be seen through a grille, and the niqab, covered from top to bottom but with a single opening for the eyes.
Vox introduced a bill to ban them, and only the PP voted in favor; Junts voted against it but introduced its own bill, and the PSOE has agreed to discuss it with Junts. What is the difference between Vox's bill and Junts's? First, there is a lack of consistency. Vox, who deny the existence of gender violence, now present themselves as defenders of women wearing veils. And they propose penalizing women who go out in public fully covered. Junts's bill speaks of guaranteeing everyone's safety and equality.
Quick thoughts: banning the burka is one of those popular laws, easy to understand, that takes away one of the far right's rallying cries. Are there women who wear burkas? Yes, you see them, but very few. You see more with niqabs, but they're still few. I see them occasionally in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, where ARA has its offices. And every time I see them, I think we shouldn't allow it. In a woman covered from head to toe, I can see nothing but male domination of women's bodies in the name of religious beliefs that turn her into bait for sin. In other words, since women can lead men to sin, we cover women. We are a European, Western society, and this kind of extreme discrimination shouldn't be allowed. But the issue is delicate. Because a woman who covers herself does so under pressure from the imam and her husband. And if she can't go out in public covered, she won't go out and will remain locked up at home. And if she has to leave home to take the children to school (which is when I see them in the mornings), and she gets fined, she will be a double victim, of Islamic law and of the rule of law that fines her.
It is essential to address this problem with the women, husbands, and imams who influence the thinking of many of their followers, and above all, not to let the far right turn this very specific and statistically small problem into a way of making us believe that only they defend Western civilization.
And, speaking of equality, I must emphasize that the second-in-command of the National Police, José Ángel González, has resigned after it was revealed that a judge has charged him with sexually assaulting a female officer, a subordinate of his, with whom he also allegedly committed crimes of coercion, psychological harm, and embezzlement. We are talking about the deputy director of operations, the number two, a position appointed by the current Socialist minister, Grande-Marlaska. He had a romantic relationship with the officer, but when she tried to end it, the police commander persisted until he sexually assaulted her. Then, according to the victim, he allegedly coerced her directly and through colleagues not to report the assault, offering her any position she wanted within the National Police in exchange for her silence. If the trial proves everything the evidence indicates, we will have rid ourselves of a uniformed sexual predator.
Good morning.
