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Australian police get power to demand removal of burqas
Police previously had power to ask women to remove face veils during investigation, but not on more routine matters.
Police previously had power to ask women to remove face veils during investigation, but not on more routine matters. PHOTO: AFP
SYDNEY: Police in the Australian state of New South Wales have been handed broad-based powers to demand the removal of burqas and other face veils so they can identify people suspected of committing a crime.
The state government approved the move late Monday after the recent case of a Muslim woman who was acquitted when a judge decided she could not be identified because was wearing a burqa.
“I don’t care whether a person is wearing a motorcycle helmet, a burqa, niqab, face veil or anything else, the police should be allowed to require those people to make their identification clear,” Premier Barry O’Farrell said.
The move follows the high-profile case of of Carnita Matthews, who in November 2010 was sentenced to six months jail for falsely accusing police of forcibly trying to remove her burqa when she was stopped for a traffic offence.
Her sentence was quashed last month when a magistrate said he could not be 100 percent sure it was Matthews who made the complaint because officers were not able to see the face of the accuser.
New South Wales state Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione demanded a clarification of the law and O’Farrell said the new powers should help prevent a recurrence of such cases in the future.
“I have every respect for various religions and beliefs but when it comes to enforcing the law the police should be given adequate powers to make a clear identification,” said O’Farrell.
Police previously had the power to ask women to remove face veils during the investigation of serious offences, but not on more routine matters.
Reader Comments (41)
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Makes sense; I hope mullahs dont make an issue out of thisRecommend
Completely fair and understandable. Just imagine if goons use this garb to perpetrate crimes.Recommend
This should be the case in other States of Australia as well.Recommend
A week ago I saw a clip that a lady was stopped by some police guys in France and they asked her to unveil the burqa, She denied and the police guys said that now its a law not to wear a burqa. So the lady removed the burqa but she was wearing an oxygen mask and she said that according to law and rules I am supposed to ensure that I am protected from germs and other vi-reals. So at the end Muslim women are making efforts to protect their identity.Recommend
http://video.news.com.au/2033909162/Burqa-woman-loses-court-battle
Shame so people like these use religion as a tool and make life hard for all the rest of usRecommend
Ban them Australia like France. I hope you guys know that during Hajj Bhurqas are not allowed.Recommend
Bhurqas are cultural not religious so taking them for security is fine ! Go Australia protect your self against who ever you seem is a threat. I I want to vacation in peace !Recommend
excellent. the burkas are a symbol of oppression of women.our girls are made to feel ashamed of their gender,their bodies from their childhood and that shamed can only be covered up,hidden behind suffocating black robes.The maulvis have brainwashed our people into thinking that women without burkas or hijabs are “loose” women.this is just a way of keeping women under men’s feet.you make women so ashamed of who they are that they have to hide themselves from the world.
this extreme form of religious misogyny has to end.Recommend
I agree. If they want to veil that badly, they should shift to Saudi Arabia. U cannot live in ‘dar-ul-harb’ and demand your religious rights. Just doesnt work out.Recommend
instead of demanding that women walk around in black tents , our men should learn the meaning of the word ‘self-control’. after all in the west women don’t wear these burkas or hijabs and abaya things but the western non-muslim men are civilised enough to maintain their self control.if rapes happen there then so do rapes happen in our ISLAMIC republic.
making girls feel embarassed and ashamed of their bodies is a grave crime,the maulvis spreading this islamic misogyny should be locked up in jail.women should be started to be treated as humans.Recommend
my father tells me that in his college university days there weren’t so many burka girls and there was none of this hijabs and abayas.These things were imposed on our society by the arabs thanks to zia’s notorious islamisation campaign.it was only after zia that we started saying ‘allah hafiz’ instead of ‘khuda hafiz’ etc. we are pakistanis not arabs or persians !!! our people should realise this.
i am horrified to see so many hijabis on my campus today.All their emphasis is on public exhibitionism of rigid repititve religious rituals.and they make it a point to get more and more girls converted to their religious fanaticism.they sing the praises of their dars parties and brainwash other normal girls to start attending these dars parties.
enough is enough ,we go to university to get an education,if i wanted religious brainwashing i would have gone to a madrassa.Recommend
glad to see everones on the same page.. completely justified.. burqas arent a religious requirement hijabs are…even when u go for haj ur not supposed to cover ur face…Recommend
Face veil is not mandatory in Islam, so I dont see any problem here.
@Muhammad Adnan
Oh for God sake, this is not about being ashamed of ones body. It is clearly written in Quran that how Muslim men and women should dress and they dress as such. If you have problems with mullah teachings, go open the Quran and Hadith books yourself and study them and you will find the answers, which is never done by YOUR KIND! Always curse mullahs and try to cover their own illiteracy when so many things are clearly mentioned in Quran and Hadith books.Recommend
muhammad adnan, can I please say Jazakallah to your comment? Man should learn self control..that’s a point I try to make all the time, and instead I’m labelled as disrespectful! Why should women be the sole parties responsible for “maintaining modesty”, why can’t men just restrain themselves from giving into their perversion?Recommend
If dictator Zia invented blasphemy laws and his political offspring Sharif approved then in his majority govt, then the western govts have the freedom to make their own laws. Particularly when it comes to safety and security, they should not take any chances at all. If some of the fanatics do not like it then don’t go to those countries. Go get the immigration and education in Saudi Arabia, if you can? All the rich Middle Eastern countries treat Pakistanis like beggars and slaves, and used them like a tissue paper, while the “bad infidels” in West give them citizenship and equal rights then it is obligatory for us to follow their laws which are fair and equal for everybody not like Arab countries. This inhuman walking tent would be banned in most countries of the world.Recommend
Recently we had a deadly attack on police station in DI Khan of a couple both man and woman wearing burqa! We should seriously think about such powers to be handed over to Pakistani law enforcing authorities. Australian move is completely understandable and justified. Nothing to argue, end of discussion.Recommend
Great! lets say no to Burqa! yesterday 7 Pakistani suicide bombers wearing Burqa were arrested after they crossed the border to Afghanistan!
No Burqa no Problem and no worries!Recommend
Every non islamic nation on this planet should impose this ban, and to those concerned, who don’t like it than go back wherever your home is and stay there !!!
Din’t need this nonsense, imposed on the rest of non muslim communities in the world!!!Recommend
@arif amjad: nope nothing of the sort. this is a personal choice for women, it has not derogatory meaning like Arif, you suggest. however the ruling is just & fair by the court for the police to identify citizens.Recommend
Burqa is a personal choice. However in the context it is fair for the police to request for the woman to take off her Burqa for identification purposes in case of criminal or civil offences. Burqa is by no means a symbol of oppression of women. On the contrary women in bikins could be termed as oppression of women thinking of them as nothing but sex objects. Any how like i said its a personal choice and one should respect that.Recommend
@ Ahmed, chicken coop is no decent place for a women to be trapped inside.Recommend
As an Indian I have never seen so many women suddenly wearing Burqa and I am over fifty. I am sure the population of Muslims has not gone up that much. I can make a calculated guess that quite a few of these burqa clad girls are not Muslims but teenagers out to have a good time with boyfriends and have no desire to be identified. I must also add that I am increasingly seeing young Muslims girls wear it even though their mothers and grand mothers never did so.Recommend
This is a understandable law and the same thing should have been the same in France and Belgium.And to all the people speaking against the Burka may ALLAH Guide you all. Sometimes i think when reading the comments that all agents of CIA and RAW are posting here and they are not muslims.Recommend
Fair is fair…Recommend
@indian guy:
if its by choice its by choice.. having said that it bears no religious context so pls leave religion out of it.. if u wish to quote psychotic mullas who demand women wear burqas then pls remember such fools ahve no concept of islam if u wish to ahve a better understanding then pls read surah NisaRecommend
well done Australia ..wise decision…Recommend
oh pls im a muslim a syyed for that matter… read surah nisah.. it tells u to cover ur head with what u wear.. not ur face.. can u pls tell me why it is that during hajj and omrah women arent told to cover their faces.. or why is that that while offering namaaz we arent told to cover our faces?
STOP with your naieve understanding of Islam… if ur not sure dont open ur mouth.. its u bunch who ruine it for the rest of us.. pls first go educate urself on islam and then feel free to budge usRecommend
I recall a court ruling in the USA that basically said that safety of public trumps religious freedom — in that ruling the lady didn’t want to remove burqa for drivers license picture – court said that whole purpose of photo ID was identification of her and not her garment – if she didn’t’ want photo of herself then the State wasn’t required to issue her a drivers license. I have no doubt Australia will also rule that public safety trumps religion.Recommend
@ Sidra: there is notthing wrong in saying Allah Hafiz versus Khuda Hafiz and Vice Versa. Yes you are right that we are not arabs or persians, but isnt it good to adopt the good things from other cultures. Dont you say Good Morning or Sorry or Thank you? we are not Englishmen, are we? but we use these words and other greetings because it makes the other feel good. The arab culture has some great things, beleive me, as I have lived and worked with them. They are more ethical than us in most of the things. Take a small example of As salam u alaikum. When you greet someone with Salam, u send Allah’s blessings to him. Now what is wrong in that.
However i would agree with the reasoning that wearing a burqa is one’s personal choice but one’s personal choice should not clash with the law of the land. As Muslims we must abide by the law of the land where we live. We must remember the Sulah-e-Hudabia incident where in Prophet (PBUH) was not allowed to enter Makkah by the then ruler, so he returned back, not making his (PBUH’s) pilgrimage that year.
We must not confuse ourselves but think logically and know the difference between what is good for us and what is bad. If wearing Abaya in Pakistan is allowed by the government and anyone is wearing its her choice. but it should not be imposed on someone.Recommend
Dear Sam,
Why you want others to get educated on Islam and become either mullahs or terrorists. We better bury all religions and live like human beings. Let our women also live like respectable citizens and contribute to the prosperity of the nation.Recommend
It’s nice to see so many bloggers have such a clear headed, positive response.
Religious believs,diktats,obligations are all private matters and have nothing to do with enforcement of law and order.Recommend
Burqa is 100% part of Islam.I dont use to wear Burqa but it is real cloth for me and I can hide my beauty for my future husbands only not all people to look at my face.
May I become beloved to my husband.Recommend
@Moderate:
Quran talks about covering yourself with modesty. No where it says to cover all of your body or to be specific women’s body. At one place it talks about keeping the belt tight around the waist, some commentators have interpreted it to cover body waist down only. Quran evolved over the period in life of Mohammad as and when it was required when society was changing around them. Common example of this rules is about consumption of alcohol. So my point is modesty is defined by the times you are living in and society/country you are residing in.
What would happen to an Australian Girl who while visiting Pakistan decided to wear six inches long shorts with a tank top and go to the market? She would be lucky to come back home in one piece.
As long as books of Hadith are concerned, they were complied by people 200 years after Prophet Mohammad’s death. So I have two things to say quickly, male dominant society and Chinese whispers have done their magic over the years.Recommend
Glad to see everyone’s on the same page here! Like Abraham Lincoln once said, “those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves”.Recommend
@Feroz:
I did not want to say it to start a side discussion but you said it. I guess you had more courage than I did. Of course it is well known fact that many girls wear and change burqa so they are not identified. My neighbors used to go and watch movies with different burqa while I was a kid. In fact many big movie stars have been on record to watch their own movie in India. Only a few years ago, a young male non Muslim singer (Rashmia?) in India went to Ajmer Sharif and after he was identified, Muslims made a big deal of it.
You are right, burqa is a multiple tool and it can be used by criminals and terrorists who want to hide their identity. The most sacred place for Muslims is Mecca. During Hajj, burqa or niqab is not allowed! Can anything be bigger and better than that? Shame on you, mullahs the worst oppressors.
Thanks and regards,
MirzaRecommend
What is need for a woman who go out of the home. Without very much need I women should go out from the home….Recommend
@SJ
Please study the ayaah’s 24:31 and 33:59. You have apparently read only quarter of one ayaah. Apart from modesty, there is also mention of covering beauty, ornaments and their bosom areas. And further explanation of these things is found if you study lives of Prophet PBUH, his wives and his companions.
As far Hadith books are concerned, there is a proper science behind them. It is not like you and I said something and It was quoted by the their authors. If you dont believe in Hadiths than how would you explain how many rakaahs of each prayer are? Hadiths only compliment what is written in Quran.Recommend
Here’s a plan, let us non-Muslims give the Muslims a choice: their women can keep their burqas on if each woman provides the government a DNA sample and gets a distinct tattoo on the wrist. Tampering with a tattoo would have a severe penalty.
Oh, is that reminiscent of the tattooing of Jews by Nazis, whom many Palestinians supported so Jews could be exterminated? What a coincidence.Recommend
@Sulemain Basha:
because education is enlightenment… if you want to argue u first need to educate yourself on a matter.. im not saying agree on somehting but educate yourself . even when u go to war you educate yourself about the enemy.. its just a common sense practice.
OMG u think readying abou Islam makes you a mullah??? clearly not reading about it makes you one of the least sharpest knives in the drawer!!!!!Recommend
@Sulemain Basha:
ok in case you wenrt able to figure out the missing part of the puzzle….education is enlightenment… if you want to argue u first need to educate yourself on a matter.. im not saying educate yourself because thatll convince you im only saying educate yourself so you can argue based on facts and not based on assumptions . even when u go to war you educate yourself about the enemy.. its just a common sense practice.
OMG this is hilarious u think readying abou Islam makes you a mullah??? youv proven my point… you havnt the clue about what your talking and hence you made such a baseless naieve and sweeping statement… thanks for making my job all the more easier!Recommend
Speaking to support Islamic women revealing themselves in greater degree, M wrote “why can’t men just restrain themselves from giving into their perversion?”
But there is the whole problem. Sex is considered perversion!! It is not, it is natural . . . and I note that it is encouraged for procreation so as to expand the Muslim population by which Imams spread their power over people.
Other religions have the same problem with sex, but modern Western men and women can enjoy their bodies and sex itself with great happiness and love. Yes, as with any human act, they can do it for the wrong reasons, but that is no reason to ban the act or to consider it a perversion.
The problem lies in the religious beliefs, and the laws put in place based on those beliefs, instead of on the political and private recognition of Individual Rights.Recommend