Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Baden-Württemberg in Germany recently banned burqas and niqābs in its schools. The Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Denmark have banned the burqa and niqāb in public spaces. The number of Western democracies banning the burqa is increasing. How are these prohibitions justified by their proponents? I argue that rationales for full-face veil bans fall into four categories. However, none of these rationales suffice to justify bans. I also argue that, despite popular sentiment to the contrary, the widespread wearing of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic does not change the debate over face veil bans.

The four types of rationales for banning full face veils are: autonomy, physical, symbolic, and psychological. Autonomy rationales claim that veils should be banned because family, religious, or ideological pressures coerce some women to cover their faces. Physical rationales argue that certain democratic activities or attitudes are physically incompatible with veiling. These arguments deal with identification, communication, seeing all citizens as equal, and testifying in court. Symbolic rationales argue that the full-face veil expresses something anti-democratic or expresses a resistance of immigrants to assimilate to local norms and values. Psychological rationales are based on sexual desire, racism, and xenophobia. This final category is unlike the others in that it aims to provide a psychological explanation for why some people support bans rather than an explicit rationale given by proponents of bans.