Seema Khan is the author of Hockey and the Hijab: Reflections from Canadian Muslim Women.
In 2008, Ontario enacted the Emancipation Day Act, which recognizes August 1 as Emancipation Day from now on and recognizes the longstanding contributions of Ontario's black communities to Ontario and Upper Canada. The group recognized the Ontario Black History Society as “dedicated to researching, preserving and promoting the history of Ontario's Black communities.” The conference recognized the “continuing struggle for human rights and freedom from oppression for people of all races,” a worthy aspiration for a just society with respect for human dignity at its core. did.
This bill was the first in Ontario's history to be co-sponsored by MPs from different political parties. Maria Van Bommel of the Liberal Party and Ted Arnott of the Progressive Conservative Party worked together across party lines to get this idea through.
Mr. Arnott is currently in his 34th year as a member of the provincial legislature and serves as Speaker of the Ontario Legislature. He banned keffiyehs from Queen's Park in March after conducting an “investigation” following a complaint from an anonymous MP.
Arnott's research does not seem to include a deep understanding of the cultural and historical significance of the scarf. Asking a Palestinian to remove his keffiyeh is like asking a Muslim woman to remove her hijab or an indigenous person to remove her headdress. It is a garment that is deeply embedded in a person's culture and identity.
It's also political. Many people wear them to show solidarity with the Palestinians being massacred in Gaza and terrorized in the West Bank. But it's certainly not just political. Mr Arnott nevertheless issued the following judgment: “I have concluded that the wearing of the keffiyeh in Congress at this time is intended as a political statement…I cannot approve of the wearing of the keffiyeh.”
He prohibited organizations whose raison d'être was politics from wearing clothing that he deemed exclusively political. What's next? Will eating watermelon at Queen's Park be ostracized, given that it is also a symbol of Palestinian resistance?
With this ruling, he unilaterally determined what the keffiyeh meant to each wearer. This blatant enforcement ban is unacceptable.
As a result of his decision, Palestinian Canadians were prohibited from entering Parliament or participating in Question Period while wearing a keffiyeh. Dania Majid, who was scheduled to meet with Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles at Queen's Park, was effectively forced to choose between protecting her cultural identity and meeting with her elected representatives in the People's Assembly. . Arnott said Monday that his own ruling applied only to the legislative chambers, not the entire building.
This judgment appears blissfully ignorant of anti-Palestinian racism. Last fall, college students Tahseen Ali Ahmad, Kinan Abdalhamid, and Hisham Awartani went for an evening walk in Burlington, Vermont. Hisham and Tahseen were playing the keffiyeh when they were shot at close range by the assailant, who then shot Kinan dead as well. Hisham is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Closer to home, staff at Iroquois Ridge High School in Oakville, Ont., were caught on video advising students to “be careful” about wearing keffiyehs to “remember” Hamas. She is under investigation. The principal unequivocally condemned her blatant anti-Palestinian racism and vowed to uphold her human rights protocols. This incident occurred just weeks after Mr. Arnott's proclamation.
The ban is a betrayal of the ideals of the Emancipation Act, which Mr. Arnott proudly co-sponsored, one that supports “the continuing struggle for human rights.” After calling on independent MP Sarah Jama to leave the House of Commons for wearing a keffiyeh, he sent an official to deliver the message in person.symbolic photograph, a white man leans over the desk of Jama, a black woman wearing a hijab and keffiyeh and sitting in a wheelchair. Let's hope the Ontario Black Historical Society, as recognized by the Emancipation Day Act, records this shameful event and sends a letter of protest to Mr. Arnott.
Ontario MPs had two opportunities to overturn the ban by voting unanimously against it. But two PC councilors, Robin Martin and Lisa McLeod, supported the ban and kept it in place. This is reminiscent of the 2017 incident in Saint-Apollinaire, Quebec. This time, just 19 opponents were enough to kill a plan for a Muslim cemetery run by the Islamic Cultural Center. The Islamic Cultural Center also operated the Quebec City mosque where six worshipers were massacred. That was just a few months ago. That vote was rooted in ignorance and prejudice. In addition to that, there are also changes.
Premier Doug Ford said he personally opposes the keffiyeh ban. But his previous refusal to table a government motion to end it means he has failed to firmly defend the fundamental human rights of all Ontarians. It is now up to all of us to strive for a just society that puts human dignity at the center.
