Bill 21: Prohibits the use of religious symbols for public servants in the work area.

June 21, 2019 por Isolda Barrera

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In the province of Quebec, Canada, this past Sunday a bill was passed banning public worker the use of religious symbols in the work area. This is said to affect various professions such as judges, teachers, police officers. Some of these symbols being the kippah, hijab and turbans.

Various people have shown their disagreement with the bill, saying it targets religious minorities and makes it harder for them to integrate into society. Others state that it unfairly targets Muslim women, who are often seen wearing hijabs.

Various women working as teacher have shared their discontent with this decision, as they say that their religion has never interfered in their work, even more they state that in this case any symbol they were as part of their religion something that for them is part of who they are. But they maintain a professional stance.

While other support the move, stating that your personal and professional lives should stay separate. With a vast majority supporting a state of secularism, some decide to take a neutral stance where they neither support or are against religions. Even some Muslim women have stated their point of view saying that they don’t need to were religious symbols to show their faith, and that keeping a professional appearance is good.

The bill in itself does not target any specific group, ethnicity or religion, but that those mostly affected would be Muslim.

And also, some say that this is wrong from the very beginning because it betrays one of the principal rights given to humans, our freedom of expression and of religion.

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