By Naomi Lakritz, Calgary Herald

Teresa Bassaletti, Julie Champagne, Guylaine Hebert, Charlotte Thibault, Francine Ferland, Carole Gingras, R’kia Laroui, Abby Lippman, Roxane Duhamel, Daniele Menard, Christiane Pelchat.

Never heard of these women? That’s no surprise, considering nobody voted them into office. In spite of an underwhelming mandate not given them by an unwitting populace to effect change, they’ve decided to effect it anyway.

These women are the members of the Quebec Council on the Status of Women and in hot pursuit of their stated mission of “defending the interests of women,” they’re urging the Quebec government to impose a sweeping ban on religious attire worn by public-sector employees, including doctors and teachers. Apparently, the women’s council needs to defend women’s interests because women are too subjugated to know they’re subjugated.

The Federation des femmes du Quebec describes status of women council member R’kia Laroui as a “feminist-Muslim” who “doesn’t wear the veil, but fasts during the month of Ramadan.” How nice that Laroui claims the right to define for herself what it means to be a Muslim. Why does she want to deny that same right to other Muslim women, simply because they choose to wear a hijab?

The women’s council is adamant that equality must trump religious freedoms; this theme turns up often on the council’s website. Their definition of equality appears to differ from the version accepted by the rest of us. To the majority of Canadians, equality means the freedom to choose how we want to live, without others putting barriers in the way or denying to certain groups the rights and privileges accorded others.

The council’s definition of equality is a rigid, oppressive egalitarianism imposed by legislation that annuls basic freedoms guaranteed in existing legislation.

Just who’s oppressing whom here? It certainly looks like the women’s council could dress up for Halloween as oppressors and be unmasked right away for who they are.

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