The World's
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Ban Child Veiling Campaign

Join the Ban Child Veiling Campaign

Child veiling is a mobile prison and a form of child abuse!

Child veiling must be banned!

The right to enjoy fair and equal living conditions for children is an unconditional right of all children. No individual or group can take this away from children and deprive them of their fundamental rights in the name of culture or religion. The question of freedom of religious clothing and religion concerns adults (even though the "rights-to-choose" of adult women often comes with threats, intimidation, and force). The veiling of children is a different issue. Islamic veiling has a devastating impact on the minds and lives of girls, who are isolated and singled out, cannot swim and mix freely with their classmates, cannot be active and playful. The society is duty-bound to protect children against the transgressions of religion and religious groups on their rights.

The child has no religion, tradition and prejudices. She has not joined any religious sect. She is a new human being who, by accident and irrespective of her will has been born into a family with specific religion, tradition, and prejudices. Society is duty-bound to provide fair and equal living conditions for children, their growth and development, and their active participation in social life. Anybody who should try to block the normal social life of a child, exactly like those who would want to physically violate a child according to their own culture, religion, or personal or collective complexes, should be confronted with the firm barrier of the law and the serious reaction of society. No nine year old girl chooses to be married, sexually mutilated, serve as house maid and cook for the male members of the family, and be deprived of exercise, education, and play. The child grows up in the family and in society according to established customs, traditions, and regulations, and automatically learns to accept these ideas and customs as the norms of life. To speak of the choice of the Islamic veil by the child herself is a ridiculous joke.

(Mansoor Hekmat, In Defense of the Prohibition of the Islamic Veil for Children, http://www.m-hekmat.com)

In Europe, the political Islamic movement is deceptively using rights language to promote the veiling of children while it violates children's rights, allows threats and the physical and mental abuse of children to ensure compliance with Islamic laws, and deprives girls and children of their basic rights, including the right to mix with boys, and swim and play freely.

This movement has revealed its true face all over the world. This is the very same movement that has violated the rights of women and girls in countries ruled by Islamic laws. In countries like Iran, this movement is a symbol of sexual apartheid.

Islamic groups have announced 4 September 2004 as pro-hejab day to coincide with the return to school for the autumn term in France; the Ban Child Veiling Campaign announces this day as the International Day against Child Veiling.

The Ban Child Veiling Campaign aims to build an international network in order to achieve the following objectives:

1- Ban the veiling of children under the legal age

2- Protection of children and persons under 16 from all forms of material and spiritual manipulation by religions and religious institutions. Prohibition of attracting persons under 16 to religious sects or religious ceremonies and locations.

3- Complete separation of religion from education. Prohibition of teaching religious subjects and dogmas or religious interpretation of subjects in schools and educational establishments. Any law and regulation that breaches the principle of secular non-religious education must be immediately abolished.

4- Prohibition of religious customs that infringe on children's rights, equality and freedom, their enjoyment of the civil, cultural, political and economic rights recognised under the law, and their free participation in social life.

We call upon all progressive organisations and individuals to join the Ban Child Veiling Campaign. Children need your support!

How to join:
If you agree with the above objectives and are keen to fight to provide children with a life free of discrimination and fear, simply e-mail Shiva Mahbobi at: banchildveiling@yahoo.com with the name of your name and/or that of your organisation.