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Let me be extremely clear. I am not in favour of Quebec’s religious neutrality law. As many have observed, Bill 62 contradicts the very idea of neutrality, breaches the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the political machinations of the legislation are all too obvious.

The signs clearly point toward niqab as the legislation’s prime target. Past cases such as the Quebec religious symbols ban and the attempt to uncover women for the citizenship oath corroborate this.

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For Muslim women who do not agree with the religious philosophy behind the niqab (or the hijab for that matter), but do believe in freedom of thought and expression for all women, this is a conflicting issue.

I arrived in Canada many years ago, from a Muslim country that was fast becoming religiously and socially oppressive, particularly towards women, intent on hiding them behind veils and head coverings.

Here, I felt I could finally escape that. Little did I know that this would follow me to Canada, under the guise of religious freedom and free will.