In order to address the issue in greater depth, CBC produced a documentary about the hijab and profiled a number of women who were deliberating whether or not they wanted to wear one. The program also discussed the issue in an international context, reporting that the hijab had been banned in France. Similar to the controversy surrounding the wearing of Sikh turbans, public reaction was divided and vocal. CBC aired some of the reactions on December 29, 1994. This also means that those who do not want to wear the hijab should not be forced to.
Freedom of religion seems to be an increasingly rare notion.
If they want to wear their scarf, fine, but them let them follow all the other rules of their religion, no driving, cover up everything else. And then if they're picked up for a crime, let the same punishment prevail in Canada as it would in those countries. All stories appearing during that time were coded, representing a total population rather than a random sample of stories. For further information on coding procedures, contact the National Media Archive. Please report any dead links or technical problems.