The “ Big Burqa Debate in Australia”

A  WA Perth judge in Western Australia is set to decide whether a Muslim woman can wear a full burqa while giving evidence before a jury  in court in a fraud case.

Burqa In australia

Anwar Sayed from perth WA  has been charged with fraudulently obtaining $1.125 million from the state and federal governments by falsifying the number of students at the Muslim Ladies College of Australia in Kenwick in Perth’s south.

The witness in this case , Tasneem, wants to wear a full burqa while giving evidence in court in the fraud trial of Muslim school director Anwar Sayed. The woman is a strict practising Muslim who does not want to show her face to men. Tasneem was an Islamic studies teacher at the Muslim Ladies College of Australia in Kenwick, south of Perth, in 2006. The school is run by Muslim Link Australia, and Sayed is the director.

This is a Burqa ( below)

Burqa – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A burqa (Arabic pronunciation: [ˈbʊrqaʕ]; also transliterated burkha, burka or burqua from Arabic: برقع‎ burqu’ or burqa‘ ) is an enveloping outer garment

Updated News 07/08/2010 :

Burqa case defendant stabbed‎ – 1 day ago

The concerns were raised in Perth’s District Court during legal argument about whether a prosecution witness could wear her burqa while giving evidence

Defence lawyers have raised concerns about how the jury is expected to read the woman’s facial expressions if they cannot see her face.

He said it was believed to be the first time in Australia that a witness had wanted to wear a full burqa

Prosecutor Mark Ritter told the court 36-year-old Tasneem wanted to give evidence, but would feel uncomfortable without her burqa and that could prejudice the way she presented her evidence. District Court Judge Shauna Deane heard lawyers’ submissions on Thursday as to whether the woman, a witness for the prosecution in a fraud trial, should be allowed to wear the full burqa, also known as a niqab. After the jury was discharged, defence lawyer Mark Trowell told reporters a jury would not be able to “make a proper assessment” of the witness if they could not see her face.

Abbott finds  the “burqa’confronting”

Tony Abbott says he would like to see fewer women in Australia wearing burqas.

“I don’t want to interfere in the operations of our legal system but I have said it before and let me say it again, I find the Burqa a particularly confronting form of attire,” Mr Abbott said.

PM  Julia Gillard enters debate on Burqa

The Prime Minister this morning commented on the case, saying woman giving evidence in court should be forced to remove face-covering burqas. Ms Gillard said she thought it was one of the “limited” instances when it should be removed.

“I worked as a lawyer for eight years, I ran a lot of cases, I interviewed a lot of clients, having done that it can be very difficult to tell whether or not people are telling you the truth,” she said.

So why do muslim women wear burqa ?

The “burqa  or niqab” is a piece of clothing that covers a woman from head to foot. There is an opening for the eyes, but the rest of the body, except the hands, are covered. The burqa or niqab is usually made of light clothing, and is essentially outerwear for some Muslim women in some regions. It is worn when women leave their homes, over their indoor clothes. It’s not worn indoors in the presence of family

Related News on Burqa

Spain to debate burqa ban

UK rules out ‘rather un-British’ burka ban

French Parliament approves burqa ban

This is a Hijab ( below)

REF:http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/62627-burqa-clad-german-arrested-bannu-bordering-pakistan-s-tribal-area-2.html

Quote from : http://www.youngandgrumpy.com/2010/05/banning-burqa-in-australia.html

Lets get a couple of things straight. Women in Burqas in Australia are not going out of their way to conceal bombs under their clothes. They are not about trying to destroy our way of life. They are doing the same thing that the rest of us do – trying to live their lives in a quiet peaceful way. Live and let live i say.
Its like the whole gay marriage debate. So many people are so passionate about denying gay people the right to marry. Why? How does someone else who you don’t know, nor will ever know give you cause for concern? What does it matter to you what someone else does with their life?