Ban the Burqa?

As part of an essay competition I plan to participate in, there is the option of writing about banning burqas. It's an issue that while I do not have a strongly sided opinion on, I do have a number of issues that I would like to raise in regards to a ban on burqas in Australia.

Firstly, I am proud to be a multicultural nation. I am proud to say that I am Australian, and that I have friends from England, Canada, China, Iran, Columbia, South Africa and Japan. Those are within my close friendship circle. Being friends with people from so many different cultures, I am aware of how precious these cultures are, and how important it is to these people, to continue with their customs and beliefs, whilst also changing themselves and their values to some extent to fit in with Australian society. My friend from Iran once said, that if he didn't want to make changes, he would have stayed in Iran. This sums up my feelings on the matter also. While culture is important, and no one should ever be forced to give that up, there must be some sort of social integration to the Australian way of life, otherwise there is no point living here. The fact is, this isn't Iran, or China, or South Africa. We have different laws, different people and a different way of life. So in saying this, the question is, should we be banning the burqa, when doing so, is effectively denying  people their cultural/religious ties?

Some people have said that there is a time and a place to wear a burqa. From my own narrow perspectives and knowledge, I would be inclined in some ways to agree. For example, as a lifeguard, I find it harder to rescue women who are clad in a vast amount of material than rescuing a very large man. It is high risk for woman wearing these to go swimming, or even near the water, and particularly if they are not great swimmers. If they don't wear it, they can't go swimming, however from a safety point of view, they probably shouldn't be allowed to swim in one either. I heard a story of a muslim woman in a burqa going go carting once, and the material got caught up in the cart and she was severely injured as a result. There have been many incidences such as this, that would lead me to believe that it impinges on the safety of these woman in many instances and perhaps there should be safety measures in place, such as a ban on burqas in such cases, in order to protect their safety.

There has also been the argument that it is more difficult for woman wearing burqas to be socially accepted into society. The comeback to this was that without one, they would not be able to go outside at all, however, I think this needs to be considered from the perspective of the non muslim Australian  population. If I was to go to Afghanistan, and walk down the street in my bikini, and maybe a pair of short shorts, I would probably be arrested or worse. I would be a total social outcast and people would never want to associate with me. People wouldn't even pretend to be tolerant. So my question, is why then, do woman expect to come over to Australia, wear a burqa down the street in our society, and expect everything to be okay and to be socially accepted. People will naturally be wary, because wearing a burqa is not the normal form of Australian attire.  It hasn't yet been banned, but if it was, could you blame us for wanting to protect our own culture in our own country, just as countries that require the wearing of a burqa do with their culture in their country?

All this being said, the one thing I value most about Australia, is freedom. The freedom to do essentially, whatever I choose. Wear whatever I feel like, however I feel like. If we were to ban the burqa, we are denying people their freedom. Who's to say that if we then had an overly conservative government, they wouldn't then ban bikinis?  How would we, as a nation feel, if such liberties were taken away from us? And perhaps this is something that needs to be thought long and hard about before banning someone from wearing the attire of their choice. There are pro's and cons from both sides. As I previously expressed, I am still in two minds about the issue, however, I do find it interesting and I will be interested to see, just how "multiculturalism" works out for Australia.