 A MUSLIM woman who said she would rather die than show her face in public must remove her veil while giving evidence in a trial, a New Zealand court ruled today. The Auckland District Court ruled that Fouzya Salim, a witness in a fraud case, and another Muslim woman must show their faces to the judge, lawyers and female court staff but can be concealed from public view, Radio New Zealand reported. The women had been fighting since last year a defence lawyer's application to have their veils lifted in court so their demeanour could be assessed. The Afghanistan-born Ms Salim, who has lived in New Zealand for 10 years, has never left her house without wearing a traditional burqa, which covers the entire body. Today the court ruled that while it could be a fair trial even if the women wore burqas, the defendant had a legitimate expectation of trial by the normal process. The decision said screens and other measures would be used in court to protect the women from further public view.
| I'm guessing that a 'two-bagger' joke would be inappropriate. |
The ruling only applied to the case in question. Last October Ms Salim told the court: "I don't want to show my face in public ... I would rather kill myself than uncover my face and sit here. If I uncover my face then I would be in trouble with God." Defence lawyer Colin Amery said he was "reasonably happy" with the decision, NZPA reported. "It's a partial victory for the New Zealand way of doing things whatever the hell that is anymore and our justice system whatever the hell that's come to," he said. |