Rita Karlsen, HRS

I Winnipeg Free Press kan vi lese at skolen i månedsvis hadde prøvd å balansere kvinnens såkalte “religiøse krav” med undervisningen i fransk språk. Men til slutt grep Quebecs regjering inn og ga kvinnen et ultimatum: ta av niqaben eller dropp kurset. Kvinnen nektet å ta av niqaben, og har nå klaget saken inn for en menneskerettighetsorganisasjon.

Dette skjer i en provins der regjeringen ofte er blitt beskyldt for å tilrettelegge for mye for minoriteter, men for denne handlingen har regjeringen mottatt ros.

Da kvinnen begynte på franskkurset for innvandrere ved Montreal college nektet hun å ta av seg niqaben hvis der var menn tilstede. Skolen var i utgangspunktet velvillig innstilt og prøvde å tilrettelegge opplæringen i tråd med hennes krav. Men kvinnen stilte nye krav:

According to a report in a Montreal newspaper, she was allowed to give an oral with her back to the class and asked men to move so they wouldn't face each other.

The breaking point occurred when the woman again refused to take off the niqab, though teachers had stressed it was essential they see her face to correct her enunciation and facial expressions.

Da skjedde det som kalles et “uvanlig trekk”:

In what appears to be a highly unusual move, provincial Immigration Minister Yolande James intervened. Officials from her department, acting with the minister's knowledge, met with the woman to discuss her options.

"The government has specific pedagogical objectives in its French courses," said James's spokesman, Luc Fortin.

"We couldn't accept that these objectives, or the learning environment in the class, be compromised."

Regjeringens handling ble applaudert av flere, blant annet lærernes fagforeninger – og moderate muslimer.

"When people come to Canada we're not coming to the Islamic Republic of Canada," said Raheel Raza, a Muslim women's-rights activist who has argued for a public ban on religious face coverings.

"We are coming here because we want that freedom, we want the separation of church and state."

Men gruppen Canadian Muslim Forum mener – ikke særlig overraskende - at kvinnen er misforstått.

The Canadian Muslim Forum, which claimed the woman was intimidated by other members of her class, said the move amounts to a misreading of the situation.

"It's not a question of reasonable accommodation at all. She was complaining about how she was being treated by other males in the class."

Spørsmålet om imøtegåelse av særkrav skal ha ulmet under overflaten i mange år, og det ble derfor nedsatt et utvalg (ups, hørt den før?):

The question of whether to accommodate religious or ethnic minorities, and if so how much, has simmered beneath the surface of politics for several years.

When tensions erupted in 2007 over a series of highly publicized controversies, the government commissioned a $5-million study to quell the matter.

Men utvalget og regjeringen klarte tydeligvis ikke annet enn å skyve problemene under teppet (ups, for Norges del blir akkurat det en nyhet i 2013 eller der omkring):

But in recent weeks the so-called reasonable-accommodation debate has vaulted back into the headlines, much to the dismay of those who helped prepare the commission's report.

Since its release in 2008, they note, the Liberal government has failed to implement most of its recommendations.

In fact, critics have accused the Charest government of altogether avoiding any discussion of awkward, identity-based issues.

Det hevdes at dette er regjeringens pris for deres passivitet (ups, den vil vår regjering erfare i 2013):

"The government is paying the price for its passivity," said Jocelyn Maclure, a philosophy professor at the Universite de Laval who served as a consultant on the Bouchard-Taylor commission.

The commission's suggestions included creating a public body to provide training on accommodations, and better informing immigrant women about Quebec cultural norms.

Andre derimot advarte mot å legge for mye i såkalte “enkelttilfeller” (ups, den var heller ikke helt ny):

"It's not like behind this woman there are 2,000 other niqab-wearing women who are about to make similar kinds of demands," said Daniel Weinstock, who, like Maclure, was a consultant to Bouchard-Taylor.

"These cases don't reflect the reality of what's going on out there. For every one case like this, which is problematic, there are a hundred that are dealt with in a very reasonable manner."

Og hvem skal tenke nytt om integreringen i Norge? Jo, disse ”nytenkerne”: