How do you say backbone in French?
In the first presidential address to parliament in 136 years, Sarkozy faced critics who fear the burqa issue could stigmatize France’s Muslims and said he supported banning the garment from being worn in public.
“In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,” Sarkozy said to extended applause at the Chateau of Versailles, southwest of Paris.
“The burqa is not a religious sign, it’s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement — I want to say it solemnly,” he said. “It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.”
Fadela Amara (whose parents were Muslims) agrees…
The proposal won the support of Fadela Amara, the urban affairs minister and a women’s rights campaigner whose parents were Muslims. “We must do everything to stop burqas from spreading, in the name of democracy, of the republic, of respect for women,” she said, describing the garment as “a kind of tomb for women”.
Also see:
Unveiling The Burka As A Security Threat
Tags: burka, burqa, France, islam, Muslim, Sarkozy
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