A Sikh man wearing a small ‘kirpan’ blade, one of the five articles of faith Sikhs must carry. Shutterstock August 10, 2023 Why a Queensland court overturned a ban on religious knives in schools Renae Barker, The University of Western Australia Not only did the Queensland law prohibit the freedom of religion of a small vulnerable minority, it did so deliberately.
Hari Singh/Flickr May 26, 2021 A religious symbol, not a knife: at the heart of the NSW kirpan ban is a battle to define secularism Renae Barker, The University of Western Australia Banning the kirpan because it resembles a knife heads Australia down a path of religion free schools.
People hold up signs as they march during a demonstration in Montreal, April 7, 2019, in opposition to the Quebec government’s newly tabled Bill 21. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes May 26, 2019 Clashing rights: Behind the Québec hijab debate Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann, Wilfrid Laurier University The proposed secular law (Bill 21) in the province of Québec appears to be directed primarily against Montreal and Québec City, and reflects a fear of strangers in Québec’s more homogeneous regions.