Title:Denmark's burka ban is counterproductive

Denmark has become the latest European country to dictate what a woman can and can't wear. Its parliament passed a new law imposing a penalty of 1,000 Kroner on anyone who wears a garment that hides the face in public.

丹麦已成为欧洲最新一个决定妇女能够或不能穿戴什么衣服的国家，其议会通过一项新法律，对佩戴在公众场合“遮面”的人处以1000克朗的罚款。

Although couched in anodyne terms, the law is really aimed at the burka and niqab as revealed by its legislative history and parliamentary intent.

这一禁令主要针对一些穆斯林女性遮盖全身或面部的装束，例如布卡（Burqa）或尼卡布（Niqab）。

Given the trivial number of women who wear the burka in Denmark (in the low hundreds), what is really animating this costly exercise in lawmaking?

鉴于在丹麦佩戴布卡式服装的妇女人数很少（数百名以下），在立法中真正推动这项昂贵的活动是什么呢？

The Justice Minister, Søren Pape Poulsen, claimed that covering one's face in public is "incompatible with the values in Danish society", and "disrespectful" to others.

司法部长Pape Poulsen称，在公共场合遮盖个人脸部与丹麦社会的价值观不一致，对其他人也不尊重。

What exactly are these Danish values? What about the laws being disrespectful of the basic individual liberty of a person's right to wear clothes of their choice?

丹麦的这些价值到底是什么？法律对个人穿衣的基本自由无礼又如何呢？

The Justice Minister claimed he did "not want police officers pulling items of clothing off people — burqas or otherwise," and that, "if they live nearby, they will be asked to go home".

司法部长说，他不希望警察直接把布卡从人身上揭下来；如果他们住在附近，他们会被要求回家。

He said policemen will have to use their "common sense" when they see people wearing the burka.

他说，当警察看到人们穿着布卡时，警察必须使用他们的同理心。

A woman's right to wear garments of her choice is to be subjected to a policeman's "common sense?"

女人穿着自己选择的服装的权利要受到警察“同理心”？

To be clear, this law is not about clothing but about what is implied by "Danish values".

明确地说，这项法律不是关于衣着问题，而是关于丹麦价值观所隐含的问题。

Denmark's burka ban is just another step in a creeping shroud of prejudice slowly spreading over Europe.

丹麦的布卡禁令只是一个正在缓慢蔓延的欧洲的偏见的笼罩下的又一步。

Recall that France struck the first blow against the burka in 2011 — a bizarrely retrograde move for a country that gave us liberty, equality, and fraternity.

回顾法国在2011年首次打击了身穿布卡的人，这是一个给我们提供自由、平等和友爱的国家的两面倒退举动。

Again, the number of women wearing the burka in France was trivial, as I noted in an article in The New York Times then.

正如我在《纽约时报》上发表的一篇文章中所指出的那样，在法国，身穿布卡服装的妇女人数还是微不足道的。

So, the law was more about sending a message to Muslims and underlining the broader prejudice against minorities in France.

因此，该法律更要向穆斯林传递信息，并强调了对法国少数民族的广泛偏见。

Since then, Germany and Austria have also adopted laws against burkas or hijabs.

此后，德国和奥地利还通过了禁止布麦斯或盖斯的法律。

Last month, a Berlin court upheld a government decision to stop a Muslim woman wearing a hijab from teaching primary school students.

上个月，一个柏林法院维持了政府关于阻止一名戴头巾的穆斯林妇女教小学学生的决定。

The justification was that "primary school children should be free of the influence that can be exerted by religious symbols".

其理由是，小学生应不受宗教符号与引文所施加的影响。

The logic is oxymoronic. Greater exposure rather than insularity might be expected to free children from any negative influences exerted by religious symbols.

其逻辑是自相矛盾的，更多的接触而不是孤立，才能使儿童免受任何宗教象征所产生的消极影响。

The bankruptcy of the state's argument is also evident when viewed against other German attempts targeting the headscarf and promoting Christian religious symbols.

在反对其他德国针对头巾和促进基督教宗教标志的企图时，国家的论点也显而易见。

The state of Bavaria decreed on April 24 that all government buildings should display crosses at their entrance.

巴伐利亚州于4月24日下令，所有政府建筑物都应在其入口处显示十字架。

The display is mandated as "a visible commitment to the basic values of the legal and social order in Bavaria and Germany" and its "cultural identity and Christian-western influence".

该展览被授权为巴伐利亚和德国的法律和社会秩序的基本价值观的明显承诺及其文化特性和基督教西影响力。

How does this square with the previously asserted need to be free from the influence exerted by religious symbols?

这与先前宣称的相应性需要如何不受宗教象征的影响呢？

In addition, recently, an Algerian-origin woman was denied French citizenship because she declined to shake hands with male public servants due to her religious beliefs.

此外，最近，一名阿尔及利亚籍妇女因宗教信仰拒绝与男性公务员握手而被剥夺了法国公民身份。

According to the French Civil Code's article 21-4, that government may "on grounds of indignity or lack of assimilation other than linguistic, oppose the acquisition of the French nationality by the foreign spouse within a period of two years …"

根据《法国民法》第21-4条，政府可基于语言之外的侮辱或缺乏同化，反对外国配偶在两年内取得法国国籍。

The court supported the government's decision and said the woman's refusal to shake hands "in a place and at a moment that are symbolic, reveals a lack of assimilation".

法庭支持政府的决定，并说妇女拒绝在某个地方并在象征性时刻握手，这表明没有同化。

To be sure, religious expression has to yield when there is a compelling state interest that warrants it.

诚然，当有迫切的国家利益需要宗教表达时，宗教表达必须屈服。

Public safety is often used as a justification to intrude on religious expression — hence the bans on veils during airport screening procedures, in courtrooms, public offices, while driving, etc.

公共安全常常被用来作为侵犯宗教言论的理由，因此，在机场检查程序、审判室、公共机关以及开车时禁止戴面纱。

Properly limited based on necessity, such intrusions on liberty may serve important public interests in safety, administration of justice, customer service, and efficiency.

这种对自由的侵扰视必要性受到适当限制，可能为安全、司法、客户服务和效率方面的重要公共利益服务。

Equally, religious beliefs or practices that are contrary to a country's constitutional values can be rendered illegal — polygamy, honour killings, forced marriage, child marriage, female genital mutilation, are examples.

同样，违反一国宪法价值观的宗教信仰或做法也可成为非法，例如一夫多妻制、名誉杀人、强迫婚姻、童婚、切割女性生殖器。

Similarly, paternalistic legislation to advance gender equality in communities where inequality is ingrained due to cultural or religious practices cannot be stopped in the name of religious freedom.

同样，在因文化或宗教习俗根深蒂固的不平等现象已根深蒂固的社区，推行家长式的立法不能以宗教自由的名义加以制止。

However, the burka bans in Denmark and other European countries do not fall under these permissible justifications.

然而，在丹麦和其他欧洲国家，布尔卡禁令并不属于这些可允许的理由。

The trivial number of women wearing burkas on Denmark's public streets has not manifested in a security problem.

在丹麦的公众街道上戴布卡斯的妇女人数很少，这并没有表现出安全问题。

And there are other less intrusive ways of promoting Danish values.

还有其他一些不那么具有侵入性的方法来促进丹麦的价值观。

In Germany, a hijab ought not to interfere with the ability of a teacher to instruct her students any more than it would in other countries.

在德国，头巾不应干扰老师教学生的能力，而在其他国家也是如此。

A handshake is not conclusive proof of lack of assimilation in France or elsewhere.

握手并不是法国或其他地方缺乏同化的确凿证据.

Stigmatising Muslim women — who are likely already burdened by discrimination — will only be counterproductive.

诋毁穆斯林妇女——她们很可能已经背负着歧视带来的负担——只会适得其反。

It is likely to push Muslim women out of vocations they are most likely to pursue — stymieing their career choices and reinforcing disempowerment.

很可能会把穆斯林妇女从职业中赶出来，她们最有可能追求的是：阻碍她们的职业选择，强化她们的权能。

A woman who has to choose between going to work or wearing her burka might choose the latter. Or worse, have that choice made for her by others.

一个必须选择去工作或穿着她的伯卡女人可以选择后者，或者更糟的是，这是别人替她作出的选择。

The ban also deprives women of financial independence and confidence — both are essential for empowerment.

这项禁令还剥夺了妇女的财政独立和信心，而这两者对于增强妇女权能都是必不可少的。

Finally, prejudice and exclusion on spurious claims about "values", neutrality, and assimilation deprive societies of the benefits from incorporating the full range of talent within it.

最后，对价值与价值的错误主张的偏见和排斥、中立和同化使社会无法从将各种人才纳入其中获益。

Research shows that group-think and homogeneity produce suboptimal outcomes compared to decisions that incorporate diversity.

研究表明，与纳入多样性的决定相比，群体思维和同质性会产生次优结果。

Why not seek to promote Danish values through education and other means rather than through criminalisation?

为什么不通过教育和其他手段而不是通过刑事定罪来促进丹麦价值观？

If women are incentivised to voluntarily shed the burka and engage actively in the public domain, European societies will benefit from their talents.

如果鼓励妇女自愿放弃布尔卡，并积极参与公共领域，欧洲社会将从自己的才能中获益。

That's surely better than pushing them underground.

其效果肯定比颁布“禁令”要好。

Dr Sandeep Gopalan is the pro vice-chancellor for academic innovation at Deakin University and a professor of law.

桑迪普·戈帕兰博士是迪肯大学学术创新的副校长和法律教授。