London: In comments that could reignite the 'burqa' controversy in France, a Muslim woman minister from the country has sought a "ban" on the veil arguing that it could help stem the spread of radical Islam.
The burqa -- the veil and headscarf covering everything but the eyes -- represented "the oppression of women, their enslavement, their humiliation," minister for urban regeneration Fadela Amara told the Financial Times.
Amara, who is of Algerian descent, said she was "in favour of the burqa not existing in my country".
The issue had sparked a controversy in France in June after President Nicolas Sarkozy described the burqa as a "symbol of enslavement" and said it "will not be welcome on the territory of the republic". However, he had stopped short of calling for its prohibition.
France was a beacon for an enlightened Islam at ease with modernity, so it was necessary to fight the "gangrene, the cancer of radical Islam which completely distorts the message of Islam", Amara said.
Getting rid of the burqa would help women to stand up to the extremists within their communities, she argued.
"The vast majority of Muslims are against the burqa. It is obvious why. Those who have struggled for women's rights back home in their own countries -- I'm thinking particularly of Algeria -- we know what it represents and what the obscurantist political project is that lies behind it, to confiscate the most fundamental of liberties."