LONDON // Imminent bans to be imposed in France and Belgium on women wearing the burqa or niqab in public will trigger legal challenges likely to last for years, lawyers predicted yesterday.
Muslim and human rights groups are determined to fight the bans in national and international courts, basing their claims on an individual's right to choose and religious freedom of expression.
Belgium legislators were expected to approve a bill that would outlaw the wearing of veils or any other facial coverings in public unless approved by the police.
However, the collapse of the coalition Belgian government in an unrelated row between Flemish and French-speaking parties led to the suspension of parliament hours before the vote was due.
The bill is expected to be reintroduced in the Chamber of Deputies as soon as a new government is formed, possibly as early as Thursday. Under the new law, someone wearing a veil could be imprisoned for up to a week or fined.
Meanwhile in France, the president Nicolas Sarkozy has promised that a similar bill to the Belgian one would be laid before ministers within the coming month.
"Face-covering veils must be totally forbidden in the whole public space because women's dignity is not divisible," said Luc Chatel, a spokesman for the French president.
"Wearing a full veil is a sign of a community closing in on itself and of a rejection of our values."
However, the Council of State, a government body that advises the French government on legal matters, has already warned that such a ban could be unconstitutional.
It has suggested that any ban be limited to a specific list of public buildings, such as schools and tax offices, but Mr Sarkozy has rejected the advice and says a legal prohibition must apply to all public places.
SOS Racisme, a French human rights group, says such a law "contravened the constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights".
Similarly, Amnesty International believes the bans would break international law.
"A general ban on the wearing of full face veils would violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion of those women who choose to express their identity or beliefs in this way," said Claudio Cordone, Amnesty's acting secretary general.
"Women must not be compelled to wear a headscarf or veil, either by the state or by individuals. And it is wrong for them to be prohibited by law from wearing it."
Lawyers for human rights and Islamic groups are now preparing to challenge the bans in both national courts and, eventually, the European Court of Human Rights.
"Bans like this lead to a lose-lose situation," said Judith Sunderland, the senior Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch.
She said there was no evidence that wearing the full veil in public threatened safety, public order, health, morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
"At a time when Muslims in Europe feel more vulnerable than ever, the last thing needed is a ban like this, treating pious Muslim women like criminals won't help integrate them."
However, there are believed to be many among France's five million Muslims - mainly of North African origin - who are not opposed to the ban.
Only about 2,000 women in France are thought to wear the burqa or niqab, and most of those are indigenous French women who have converted. In Belgium, the number is thought to be only 200-300.
The veils are much more common in the UK, but none of the three major parties there is planning to legislate for a ban.
Even if Belgium and France ride out the legal challenges and eventually implement the bans, there remain grave doubts over how enforceable they would prove to be.
Under the French proposals, stores could refuse entry to women wearing veils and police officers could demand they be removed and impose fines equivalent to up to Dh3,700 if they were not.
Gérard Collomb, the mayor of Lyon, has stated that his police force doubts that the law could be enforced, while Jean-Paul Delevoye, the state ombudsman in France, has described the total ban in public places as "excessive".
He also questions how the ban will be imposed on tourists. "I don't know what we are going to do with Saudi women who go shopping on the Champs Elysées," he said.
@Email:dsapsted@thenational.ae
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
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The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Dubai Women's Tour teams
Agolico BMC
Andy Schleck Cycles-Immo Losch
Aromitalia Basso Bikes Vaiano
Cogeas Mettler Look
Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
Hitec Products – Birk Sport
Kazakhstan National Team
Kuwait Cycling Team
Macogep Tornatech Girondins de Bordeaux
Minsk Cycling Club
Pannonia Regional Team (Fehérvár)
Team Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Team Ciclotel
UAE Women’s Team
Under 23 Kazakhstan Team
Wheel Divas Cycling Team
Places to go for free coffee
- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
- Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
- Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
Company%20profile
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PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
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The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
SHAITTAN
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