In Your Face: Piercing the Veil of Ignorance About Niqab-Wearing Women

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26/02/2016

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CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE Jawaharlal Nehru University SEMINAR SERIES Dr Natasha Bakht Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, University of Ottawa on In Your Face: Piercing the Veil of Ignorance About Niqab-Wearing Women The paper will examine three judicial decisions in three different jurisdictions involving niqab-wearing women in courtrooms. Particular emphasis is paid to the Canadian Supreme Court case of R v NS in which a sexual assault complainant wanted to wear her niqab while testifying. The uniquely challenging context of sexual assault, which has garnered much feminist attention and reform internationally, is considered. It is argued that serious consideration must be given to the multiple rights of Muslim women by reassessing the traditional use of demeanor evidence. Some judges in these cases attempt to be inclusive of niqab-wearing women in accordance with policies of multiculturalism, yet they do not go far enough in protecting Muslim women's rights. Other judges refuse to accommodate the niqab entirely. This troubling analysis parallels attempts made to exclude niqab-wearing women from public spaces generally permitting dubious objections that certain requests for accommodation have gone too far. Friday, 26 February 2016 ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Natasha Bakht is an associate professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law. Her research interests are generally in the area of law, culture and minority rights and specifically in the intersecting area of religious freedom and women's equality. Her most recent writings on the rights of niqab-wearing women were cited by the Supreme Court in the case of R v NS, 2012 SCC 72. Prof Bakht has edited the collection "Belonging and Banishment: Being Muslim in Canada" (Toronto: TSAR, 2008). She is the current English Language Editor of the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law (CJWL).