After the series of controversies pertaining to the niqab or burqas (veils) in France, similar incidents have been reported in Canada. It was all started when an Egyptian woman refused to remove her head-to-toes veil in her French language class in a Canadian college.

The woman with veil, whose identity is yet to be revealed, is a new immigrant to Canada and has enrolled herself to French language class. When the college authority asked the mother of three to remove her veil, she did not but quit the class. As a result of the incident, the woman has filed a petition with the human rights commission of Quebec on the basis of violating her religious rights.

The principal of the college confirmed that the woman was allowed to wear the veil on special demand when the very first session in the college started in August. All the adjustments were made to her comfort- she was given the front seat in the class in order to avoid confronting her male classmates; and make presentations from the rear of the classroom without facing the class. Reportedly, the class had seventeen female and three male students altogether.

Her demands were never-ending…things have gotten worse with the start of the second session in the college in October, when the class did not have single female instructor. Besides, the students were supposed to sit facing all students around a table in order make the conversation more fruitful. This is when the college authority and the provincial government of Quebec asked her to remove her veil for better interaction and effective learning of the language.

The verdict of the human rights commission is yet to come. Let’s wait till the spring and find out whether the country will impose similar legal restrictions on Muslim women wearing veils as France or not!