Progressives and feminists have been led astray on the question of the burqa

It may also be that progressives and feminists have allowed the way this debate has unfolded – and particularly their disdain for Cory Bernadi and Jacquie Lambie - to cloud their vision on the issue. In their haste to reflexively oppose bigotry and religious discrimination, progressives and feminists have unwittingly sided with a subculture that opposes the very values that they would ordinarily stand for. This is regrettable, and demonstrates the adage that the enemy of one's enemy is not necessarily an ally.

Let's be clear: incidents where women wearing the veil or the hijab have been verbally abused, or had violence directed at them, are inexcusable. But discussing the prospect of banning the veil is not an attack on those women wearing it. Instead, it would be an attempt to undermine an arch-conservative, patriarchal subculture that leads both sexes to conclude that a woman's value can only be maintained under a cloak of concealment.

Until this point, progressives and feminists have been lured into this issue by lazy thinking. Simplistic memes about preserving 'individual choice' obscure the reality that the veil is both a symbol and instrument of a conservative, anti-feminist subculture. Likewise, sloganistic rationalisations about how 'government shouldn't tell women what they can and can't wear' miss the point that the state is in this business already. Public nudity has been prohibited for some time, with few of us seeing it as an infringement on personal autonomy.

It's time that progressives and feminists rediscover their core principles on the issue of the veil. Yes, we can be in solidarity with women who 'choose' to wear it. But in doing so, we shouldn't legitimise the subculture that puts them in a position of having to make that choice in the first place.