France debates burqa ban

Five years after the wearing of religious symbols was outlawed in public schools in France, the demand for a general ban on the burqa has made its way to the French Parliament.

Sixty MPs have asked for a Commission of Inquiry into the wearing of the veil.

Ask Sihem Habshi, president, Neither Whores Nor Submissives, whether burqa should be banned and you will find her agreeing. Women, she says, can be free only if they are visible.

"We are proud to be Muslim. But we just desire to be free and the equals of men. And not the veil. We don't need the veil. Perhaps it's also the good way to stop all the fundamentalists to use our body as a flag," said Sihem.

This is an indication of the deep divide within the community itself, now overwhelmed by the larger debate over religious intolerance.

Activists and the French political community are deeply divided over the question as to whether the ban will protect women's rights, or would it be a sign of intolerance.

The movement for the ban on the Islamic veil is fast gaining momentum in France.