After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!
Twitter users ridicule Harper
Left: Zunera Ishaq, a Mississauga woman who fought in court to wear the niqab at her citizenship ceremony. Right: Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Prime Minister Stephen Harper provoked a flurry of social media responses when he stated in the House of Commons yesterday that the niqab (a face veil used by some Muslim women) was "anti-women." The Conservative government recently moved to appeal a court ruling that upheld a Muslim Canadian woman's right to wear the niqab at her citizenship ceremony.
The Conservative government has criticized the use of niqabs while taking the oath, saying it's "not the way we do things here" on its party website.
But Harper himself was a target of criticism over policies that undermine women in Canada, after his party axed funding for women's groups in 2010 and cut the Status of Women budget by nearly 40 per cent in 2006. He also repeatedly refused an inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women, despite strong UN recommendations to launch an investigation.
People tweeted at the Prime Minister under the hashtag #dresscodePM for his comments on what kind of clothing he considered oppressive to women.
Some examples below:
With files from Sindhu Dharmarajah
With files from Sindhu Dharmarajah
Read More:
More in News
Speak up about this article on Facebook or Twitter. Do this by liking Vancouver Observer on Facebook or following us @Vanobserver on Twitter. We'd love to hear from you.