Saturday, August 21, 2010

COMMENTARY: Banning Clothes That Cover Face in Schools Enhances Learning Process

The Education Minister of Sweden, Jan Bjoerklund, this week called for the banning of clothes that cover the faces of students at Swedish schools and universities. This ban includes Islamic veils, such as the full-body burqa and the full-face nigab.

The Education Minister emphasized that he made this decision because it is extremely unsuitable to allow clothing that covers the face, in order for effective learning to occur.

In other words, teaching is communication in which a teacher and a student should be able to look at each other in the eyes and converse with each other. The expression on a student's face often indicates whether or not the student understands the subject matter that has just been presented by the teacher.

Indeed, the Education Minister is correct in banning clothes that cover the face in Sweden's schools. The purpose of the ban, then, is not to discriminate against Muslim girls and women who traditionally wear clothes that cover the face, but rather to ensure that the teaching-learning process takes place in the most effective way that is possible.

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