The long running debate about whether Muslim women must uncover their faces when required do so for official business such as swearing an oath or passport pictures is alive again. It comes this time in the form of Quebec’s new religious neutrality act, intended to ensure such openness in official business. The headgear known as the niqab covers the face of presumably devout Muslim women for reasons related to their faith and culture. It is eschewed by many Muslim women however. Politically it is endorsed by the federal Liberal Party as an expression of personal choice. The opposition, typically expressed by the Conservative Party, say the niqab should not permit the disguising of identities. Many members consider it demeaning of women who wear it. In Europe, a number of countries including France have banned the niqab outright.
