It is forbidden to prohibit religious prohibitions.

Only bad faith or utter ignorance could give credence to Vox and its proposal to ban the burka and niqab in public spaces. They speak of "our culture" as if theirs were everyone's. Their stale patriotism, their Francoist nostalgia, their radical misogyny, and their freedom-crushing attitude are certainly not "our culture." But what's surprising isn't Vox's racism, but the ineptitude of a left wing that doesn't seem to see these things coming, and out of laziness, mediocrity, or cowardice, allows certain thorny issues to fester until they erupt in controversies like the one we're seeing these days.

Patxi López said that a calm and serious debate should be held on the matter, but also that the burka is part of a religious expression. I love that the PSOE itself, which hasn't been concerned about the religious freedom of Catholics who want to outlaw abortion, is so respectful of... what religion? What Islam? Have left-wing politicians become experts in Islamic theology? Have they debated with the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence or the thirty thousand branches of Shi'ism and achieved what hasn't happened in fourteen centuries of history: consensus and unity within Islam, which, though it may not seem so, is more difficult than unity on the left? Exactly in which verse of the Quran is the precept of covering women established? And why do parties with socialist, republican, and communist roots have so much respect for those who believe in angels and demons, heaven and hell? Patxi López, Yolanda Díaz, Aina Vidal, and all those who consider it "religious freedom" to lock women in mobile cages, do you think I will burn in eternal fire for being an apostate, a fornicator, an infidel, and a blasphemer?

I completely agree with Aina Vidal when she says that Vox couldn't care less about the women behind the veils, and I see honesty in her statements, but I ask her: what about you? Do you care about the Muslim women and girls who live oppressed and discriminated against? Even with the May '68 slogan ("it is forbidden to forbid"), they tell us that preventing this degrading clothing isn't the solution, that it's counterproductive. Okay, so what do we do? What are the left-wing parties going to do to guarantee equality for girls? Because for years we've been shouting ourselves hoarse, clamoring to be able to enjoy the same rights and freedoms as everyone else, and none of these respectful figures, so tolerant of fanatics, none of them have proposed anything that would benefit the victims of this violence. What do you think about the fact that there are now girls in preschool wearing headscarves? Do you think it's right that they can't learn to swim? That they can't talk to boys, that they can't marry whomever they want? Why have you abandoned them to their fate and let the far right exploit their situation to legitimize their hate speech? Neither Vox nor Aliança Catalana love us and they don't want us because we're Moors, but neither do you. You also don't want to see what's hidden beneath the veils that cover us, to uncover the racism, sexism, and classism. The right and the far right will come and make our reality even darker, but not through their own merit, but because of their dereliction of duty, their incompetence, because you still haven't understood that it's not enough to stoke the specter of fascism, that democracy isn't about dust or kings sitting comfortably until their turn comes around. Democracy is about principles and commitment to those principles. It's about truth and courage, not cowardice and opportunism.