Saving the Canadian Muslim Woman: The Story of Alternate Dispute Resolution

Canadians have, as of late, been faced with such controversial clash of rights issues as the 2004 Ontario faith-based arbitration debate, the more recently proposed Quebec Charter of Values, as well as the ongoing hijab and niqab debates that continue to garner their collective attention. In the case of the Ontario faith-based arbitration debates, while the issue related to all religious traditions, the ensuing narrative around the case focused heavily on the Islamic faith alone, often symbolized by the “repressed” Muslim woman. The emerging sense is that the underlying objective, emblematic of these types of measures, continues to be a “saving” of the desolate Muslim woman against her patriarchal, aggressive husband whilst at the same time protecting esteemed “secular” values. Naturally, this stance begs whether or not the Canadian Muslim woman indeed needs “saving” and whether or not these “secular” societal values offer the best route to salvation.