A Montreal woman claims controversial Bill 21 is emboldening Islamophobes after a man tugged on her niqab and shoved her in the chest as she walked to a metro station.
Fatima Ahmad believes she was targeted because of her face veil and linked the incident to the tabling of Quebec’s secularism bill, which bans the wearing of religious symbols in some public service roles."I was very shocked. I didn't know how to react," said Ahmad.
“But now with Bill 21, I see this has extended to everyone. I see the older people doing it, the younger people doing it, the men, the women, people of different colours. “I am 100 per cent sure that Bill 21 is making people more confidence they can discriminate, abuse and not stand up to injustices,” the 22-year-old said.The McGill education student said she is unsure of her future as Bill 21 proposes teachers will not be permitted to wear niqabs in the classroom.Montreal police told CTV News Montreal they are investigating the incident.
The Coalition Avenir Quebec government's Bill 21 would prohibit public sector workers in positions of authority, including teachers and police officers, from wearing religious symbols on the job.Earlier this week, sociologist Guy Rocher told the committee studying Bill 21 that the proposed law is not "anti-Islamic" as many opponents have claimed.
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