Racism veiled as liberation | The Guardian (On the ban of the Islamic veil)

Here in The Netherlands we have had this debate for a few years and it wouldn’t surprise me that once the new coalition government is in place, a full ban will also be passed. However, here’s the thing about the Dutch debate: the ones who propose and defend the ban are all white, middle aged, Christian men. You know, the politicians. In all the discussions, this is what is never considered or taken into consideration: the opinions and wishes of the women who wear the veils themselves. Because these politicians obviously know better. And because they work on the premise that all of us immigrants and foreigners (especially, particularly, those of us who have been labeled as heading from a “Non Western” country") have agreed to be “normalized” and assimilated (these are the words used by the Immigrations Office, not words that I am just casually throwing around). So, basically, by living here, we have agreed to give up our voices unless those voices are in tune with what is deemed to be the Dutch National Character.

So yes, this liberation is nothing more than the suppression of individual identities disguised as a step towards freedom. The white, Christian, middle aged politicians are, after all, doing us a favor. Because you know, if we head from “Non Western Countries” (again, a label I haven’t made up, one used by the IND when they hand us our residence permits), we can only be savages.