Latest update September 13th, 2026 10:36 AM
Should the Muslim veil be banned in Guyana?
On Monday, in a city in northern Italy, a woman was arrested for entering a post-office wearing a Muslim scarf known by its Muslim name, hijab or niqab. In schools across Europe the debate is raging about banning students from wearing it. In French schools it is prohibited. The European leader leading the charge is President Sarkozy of France. Banning both the hijab and a Mujslim dress named the burkha is a certainty in France. The constitutional Court has ruled in favour of its prohibition and the lawmakers are yet to decide.
Arguments in Europe for the ban centre on philosophical points rather than on culture. Those who resent the ban speak of tolerance for religion. But Sarkozy feels it is dehumanizing to a woman. In Guyana, it is doubtful that outlawing the veil would ever be a reality, but in the context of the arrest of transsexual wearing women’s clothes and minibus owners having to take stickers off their vehicles, then a discussion of the banning of the hijab is in order.
A niqab is a facial wear in which the woman’s entire face is covered except her eyes. The hijab is a more moderate wear in which the face is partially covered. Speaking of my opinion, I find the niqab an aesthetically hideous instrument. No religious book should dictate a woman to wear such an appendage.
The question about the niqab is why don’t men wear it? Apparently it goes back to the Koran where it was mandated for the female gender but time has outdated many of the pronouncements of the great religious texts. For example, in October 1996, the Pope in a message to the Pontifical Academy of Science, a body of experts that advises the Roman Catholic Church, said that evolution was not incompatible with Christian teachings. It is outside the scope of this column to expand on the Pope’s explanation. Suffice it to say it is a phenomenal example of bringing old tenets in line with modern conceptualizations.
If the Koran dictated that women have to wear the niqab then Islamic scholars should be able to contextualize that edict and come up with a more modern alternative. I am not a religious person but I find Muslims attitude to women chauvinistic. I am married to a Muslim woman and I never adhere to the request that at functions in the mosque that women and men be separated. I always sit next to my wife and will never; I repeat never subscribe to that tenet of gender separation in any religion.
Everything has context and in the context of what is taking place in Guyana it is relevant to analyse the legality of the niqab. If a transvestite cannot wear a blouse and skirt, then why should a woman put a cloth on her face and cover up her entire visage? A minibus owner cannot put up a sign on his/her bus. The police have ordered all minibuses to take down their stickers. If that is illegal then by what right can the police allow a woman to perambulate the terrain of Guyana with her face covered?
We come now to the question of security. Only diplomatic vehicles are allowed to carry tinted windows that prevent the naked eyes from identifying the occupants. All other vehicles must not be fitted out with dark tints.
The niqab carries the same security risk. A group of criminals can dress like women and their awkward facial make-up cannot be detected because all they have to do is to don the niqab. The police then will probably think it is a group of Muslim women and just go about their business. My point is that the wearing of the niqab can be a security risk.
Where do I stand on the issue? I am a strong supporter of the feminist ideology. I agree with President Sarkozy that both the burkha and the niqab are dehumanizing to women. I further believe as most French people do that it is the husband that insists that the burkha and veil be worn by their wives. Then, they too should wear it. Isn’t there a religious law against male chauvinism? It seems to me that God tolerates a lot of unfair things.
Finally, should it be banned in Guyana? If the law prevents a man from wearing a lady’s garment and if the law prevents a minibus owner from putting a sticker on his bus then the hijab should be met with the same iron hand. That’s equality before the law.
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