Amnesty International (AL) in its report has denounced the ban on face veil in France and Belgium for being a major hurdle for Muslim women finding jobs and educational placement. These realities are a poor reflection on the state of multiculturalism that the West counts as one of the facets of its advanced civilisation. Broadly speaking, if that is how Muslim women dressing as per their rituals are being singled out for discrimination, it means tolerance is in short supply there. Muslim countries have not placed a dress ban on Western women arriving in their countries. One wonders what threat could a scarf wearing women pose to the Western society. So just who is being a fundamentalist here?
Head-scarves are cultural traits only and should not be regarded as agents of cultural invasion. It is sad to see these so-called modern societies falling victims to their own petty and unfounded prejudices. Hate crimes and systematic racist acts at which AL points a finger, besides general Islamophobia that manifests itself in numerous forms, have increased with the passage of time. It is in these countries' own interest if they stopped hardline elements from polarising their society on religion and culture.