German Chancellor Seeks Ban of Face Veils

German chancellor Angela Merkel, weeks after she announced that she would run for her fourth term made headlines all over the world when she proposed a ban on the full-face veil in December. During her speech at a conference held by her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she said “The full veil is not appropriate here, it should be forbidden wherever that is legally possible. It does not belong to us.” Her proposal comes months after Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere also called for a ban on the full-face veil, stating that “It does not fit into our society and does not work for us, for our communication, for our cohesion in the society.... This is why we demand you show your face.”

However, if one truly feels more comfortable wearing their veil or covering themselves in public, then they should be able to.

These comments were all made after multiple terrorist attacks in Germany–including the recent attack in the Christmas market in Breitscheidplatz in December, the Brexit vote in Britain, and the election of Donald Trump in the United States. For Germany, these are very uncertain and unstable times. The German electorate will be looking for stability in their next chancellor; however, because of Merkel opening the borders to migrants mostly from the Middle Eastern countries in war, many voters were angered by Merkel adding to the growing uncertainty of Germany’s future. In the local elections in September, her party suffered a significant defeat, another marker of voters’ displeasure with Merkel.

Germany isn’t the first country to try to pass bans of these sorts in Europe. After recent terrorist attacks in France, the city Cannes banned religious swimwear, including burkinis, but the bans were later overturned. In April 2011, France was also the first country to ban the burqa, a full body covering that also includes a mesh over the face, and the niqab, a full face veil that has an opening for the eyes. When a 24 year old woman brought this case to court, and claimed that it violated her religious freedom, the law was upheld by the European Convention on Human Rights in 2014.

Religious freedom advocates strongly oppose these laws. However, others who see the Islamic veil as degrading to women support the laws. Belgium and Switzerland have similar laws banning Islamic veils, and are just as controversial.

I think that the full-face veil should only be banned when an officer of the law, or authorities are identifying an individual. For instance, in airport immigration, the person standing before the immigration officer has to match their photo-identification in their passport. I think it would make perfect sense to ask the woman to remove her veil for a second, so that the officer can confirm that the person standing before them really are who they claim to be. This has to do with national security; if the person underneath the veil are not who they claim to be, then countries could be letting in terrorists, for all they know. Therefore, if a woman is asked to take her veil off solely for the purpose of identifying them, then I think it’s perfectly reasonable for them to do so.

However, if one truly feels more comfortable wearing their veil or covering themselves in public, then they should be able to. No one should tell them they can’t wear covering clothing if that makes them more comfortable. I think that goes without saying, and can be applied not only to whether or not one can wear their veils.

And in terms of France, they’re ban on the burqa and niqab directly opposes their claim of a rigorously enforced secularism; they are quite literally banning something that has to do with one’s religion. And if wearing their religious garb makes them more comfortable and feel safe, then by all means, they should.

Angela Merkel’s call for a ban on the full-face veil comes from a good place. She wants to give German citizens the stability that isn’t reflected in the rest of the world in a time of great uncertainty and fear.

And I do believe that a woman should take off her veil when instructed to do so by an officer to confirm the woman’s identity. But women, like everyone else, have a right to their religious beliefs and religious freedoms, and shouldn’t be told whether or not they can wear their veils in public.