Can and should burqas be banned? The legality and desirability of bans of the full veil in Europe and Australia

Abstract

The first part of this article discusses the legislative moves in France and Belgium to ban the wearing of the burqa and niqab in public and considers the likely outcome of legal challenges to the enacted or proposed laws. Australian proposals to ban the full face veil are then examined. We conclude that protections equal to those available to Muslim women in Europe, which are enshrined in constitutional charters of rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, are not available in the Australian context and, accordingly, any Australian ban would be less susceptible to judicial criticism. However, Australian law makers should not succumb to calls for bans on religious head dress if they would disproportionately infringe Muslim women’s rights to manifest their religion, to personal autonomy and to personal integrity.