Femen members go topless to support Quebec Charter of Values

If you went to the protest rally AGAINST the charter you would see that many independent women wearing hijabs and niqabs fought for their rights to dawn their religious symbols. They chose to wear what they wish. Their religion is not a matter of feminism suppression, it's a matter of proudly representing who they are and what they believe.

The only reason the nationalist party in Quebec wants to discourage these "symbols" is because they realize that non francophones are the reason they can never acheive a successful seperatist vote, so this is their way to deter any non fracophones from living in Quebec so their support increases. There will be more more oppressive legislation after this, such as expanding the language police and doing whatever they can to clear out anybody who is most likely not going to support their nationalist and seperatist platform.

These girls fell for a political tactic to remove dissent

There may be women who willingly don the hijab. However, many women have no choice about it. It is don the hijab or disgrace the family honour and pay the price.

Therefore, the hijab is a symbol of coercion, and it really horrifies me to see anyone wearing it.

But there is something weird and not right about using the law (a form of coercion, as the state has the legal monopoly on detention) to counteract coercion.

The correct act of the state is to protect people who fear violence, whether that is family violence or any kind of violence.

My view is that Muslim women that wear the hijab or head scarves or other religiously associated artifacts should not be cemented within the stereotypical first world view that it is a form of "coercion". Many Muslim women, whether American, Canadian, or Quebecois are fighting for the right to wear their religious symbols mostly of their own free will. Granted is your point that some Muslim women are in fact coerced and forced by their families into activities and life choices they are not supportive of- the paternalistic and misogynistic tradition that many old, "hardcore" Muslims follow makes sure of this. Instead of seeing headwear like the hijab as a form of coercion, we should create and maintain support for women in troubled situations- not just for Muslims who feel oppressed by their vindictive families, but also for all types of women who require help. Who is the government to deprive these people of a basic right and freedom? Canada has been repeatedly praised for its "religious neutrality" where various people of different ethnicity could coexist in a constructive country- should we as Canadians not fight to maintain that?

Given however is the difference in style of politics and the types of people who vote, and that Quebec is the least multicultural of the Canadian provinces. I doubt this piece of legislation would even stand a slight chance in any other province- the arrogance and attitude in France also carried over to the (now) Canadian French in the 17 and 1800s. The gist of one of the main points that the PQ has is to, "maintain the Quebecness of the Quebecois". The point that "Lol" raised (yes, I'm not a slang illiterate, I actually know what that means) lies in the very Quebec way of thinking- and in that the desire to separate from the rest of Canada. I agree with the point that the vote for the separation from the rest of Canada lies in the vote of the non-Francophones, those not culturally French- the French battle against the English still rampant from the advent of the Hundred Years War to the 21st Century. The irony is in the fact that they were one of the four provinces that agreed to the constitution in 1867.

Lets not judge and put all Québécois in the same basket. Because of a Separatist government having its own agenda (like most if not all political parties), gives the majority of Québécois a black eye. Like in all cultures & religions there are good poeple and bad. These stereotypes are reinforced everytime the PQ is elected because of some political agenda. Lets not forget that the PQ is a minority government and unfortunately the liberal party scadals cost them the election. Unfortunately the Québécois are paying the price for another government that is not putting its energy behind what is important to all; health, economy, education, infrastructure...

I am Québécois and I am Canadian!

Utterly ridiculous. They've given up their core values and are encouraging discrimination and the erosion of people's rights. What does wearing a turban have to do with feminism? The Charter of Value's is just a con job by the Catholic Church who was seeing their base erode due to the fact that the type of Francophones they want(ie white Catholics from France) aren't moving here. It has nothing to do with government secularism and everything to do with the rise of muslim immigration.

@MNINL

Then again...then again, while everyone has a right to liberty, that liberty if fettered all the time especially when it comes to formal and informal codes of dress. You can't mine without a gas mask, or even cavort pantsless down Davie Street in the Pride Parade!

As for religious neutrality, I'm all for it as long as they are actually neutral, in the sense of being largely invisible and inert.

If your religious identity is confined mostly to prayer, reflection, dietary eccentricities, and interesting clothing, that doesn't make a problem for the police.

If your religious identity is Shim Aum and you must release deadly sarin gas into subways, well that makes a problem for the police.

I don't mean that as a poke at Muslims. While some Muslims may be very interested in repressing women (and Ahmadhis, Bahais, people who like rock and roll, etc), most aren't, just as most Christians are not interested in picketing the funerals of the war dead holding up obscene gloating signs.

But we don't allow the Westboro Baptists to come here, either.

My point is that the state actually steps in on our religious neutrality all the time, we just don't discuss it much.

I'm really disappointed and upset by all the ignorant comment on here. Point of the matter is that Women who wears Hijabs and the sort have a right too to so, since most of the time it is by choice. (If it is not it is another situation that requires different handling).

Everyone has a right to religious freedom and the freedom to do what they wish, unless it suppresses others.

FEMEN is disgusting and even as a feminist I believe they are disgusting and scum and honestly someone should have kicked them out of this rally. (Then again any feminist should agree. Feminism includes all or it is not feminism)

The Quebec Charter is an assault upon individual rights guaranteed by Section 15 of our Charter but it is not shock that "progressive" elements are marching right alongside racists & xenophobes. Anyone supporting the Quebec Charter in the belief it is against organized religion is a misguided fool at best: it is an attack on the rights of the individual full stop. I would wholeheartedly support a government that took action against organized religion, ceasing all transfer of taxpayer funds to religious groups & ending their tax exempt status would be a good start, but this Charter does nothing to the various groups themselves. Money will still flow to Catholic schools from taxpayer coffers and they will continue to avoid paying taxes thanks to 19th century thinking but individuals are singled out for special treatment.

I expect racists & xenophobes to support the Charter because it is designed to target "the other." I also expected some support from the "progressive" herd because they could be convinced with ham-fisted propaganda that this is about clamping down on organized religion. Another angle fuelling progressive support for this violation of human rights is the negation of the individual which is essential to communitarian dreams.

Individual rights are an anathema to the left as they favour grouping people together and dealing with a mass. Naturally that mass has no real voice, their positions all being determined by a coterie of "leaders," some of whom are paid 1% salaries even in feminist academia. The conditioning of xenophobes & racists really isn't that different from any political herd like progressives: when you cut through the rhetoric they are happier when individual choices are restricted by government action.

Do not be fooled by the propaganda from the range of sources from right to left: the Quebec Charter is about restricting the rights of individuals to make them conform. What a public servant chooses to wear does not place an undue burden upon the individual he/she is serving: there is no right to be free from offence but there is a right to:

"equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability."

The proposed Quebec Charter is a violation of that right.

Another reason that this is obviously a Catholic plot is that they didn't ban religious jewelry, although it has to be 'small'. So people can still wear crosses, which is by far the main way Catholics express their religion. Anybody who would vote for this is a redneck.