We previously discussed the decision of Harvard to create a women-only hours at the college gym. It appears now that McGill University, an equally world-class academic institution in Montreal, is being asked to offer the same accommodation to female students who do not want to work out around males. student Soumia Allalou, 23, insists that women should not be forced to at a gym with male students. However, others raise the question of gender discrimination in barring male students solely due to their sex rather than their conduct. Allalou is a Muslim and wears a hair covering.
She notes that the school pool has special hours for women after a female student brought forward similar concerns. However, it would seem worthy of a debate about that accommodation as well as the new requested accommodation. These hours are set aside only for women while men have no such accommodation. Even it is were enforced as a separate but equal program with both male and female exclusive hours, there would remain the question of the wisdom of gender discriminatory rules.
The student union is working with Allalou to present the matter to a vote. Claire Stewart-Kanigan, the student union’s vice-president of university affairs insists “There has been backlash saying that women should just get over it and feel comfortable around men, regardless of religious or personal reasons that lead them to feel uncomfortable. But when we are talking about religious freedom, it’s not a question of asking someone to get over it. That is asking them to give up tenets of their religious practice, which is not something that we should be standing for at McGill.”
That is certainly one perspective. A different perspective is that the university is based on notions of equality and that students who insist on racial or gender or religious exclusion are not required to use such facilities as the gymnasium.
What do you think?
100% agree we should not be enabling. But then we have to accept the violence that will ultimately come. It is a bit of a dream to think these difference will be worked out in a western court of law, as history shows they have their own ideas on how to convey their displeasure and seek justice.
Ed, it’s as simple as saying no and reminding them they live in a modern society. However, if they sue, well, they could win based on the precedent of religious beliefs trumping current law and trends, as in the Hobby Lobby case. Muslims need to move forward and we shouldn’t be an enabler of regressives in any religion,cultural belief or political philosophy. As I said they can lease a pool or gym for their own use.
“Equal” does not mean “the same”. If men and women are forced to work out together because they’re “equal”, then they should also be forced to be on the same athletic teams. No more sex discriminatory athletics, period.
Oxa – I agree with your argument but want to take it further. I think all athletic teams should be broken down by racial group as the same proportion in the US population at large. Ethnic and religious make up should also be considered. Combinations are okay to make the quotas.
Only if they swim naked and work out in scanty gym strip. Then the boys can peek through cracks and holes and, well, you know. But no bed sheets and pajamas. Then we can exercise our necks so the head faces backwards and then it will be god’s will.
Pogo is right though it is all the fault of Obama and the progressivestistas, and the left, the same left that brought us equality between the sexes, strives for equal pay between women and men, and all the other dastardly plots against the status quo. Aren’t we all better off as good Christian fundamentalists? Shouldn’t we burn some books from time to time?
It’s strange when one gets up a head of steam.
“they’ve got to realize that they can’t live in a modern society without some measure of assimilation.”
Not going to happen. They do not want that, many abhor modern society, they expect others to assimilate to their religion, and they are quite forthright about it all. Do not believe their feel good rhetoric about living equally, believe their actions.
I’m sure feminists agree w/ having special hours for women as well. I find there is an easy way to determine if an idea is bad. When feminists agree w/ conservative Christians that porn is bad, well that confirms they’re wrong. When feminists agree w/ Muslims on segregated gym hours, bad idea. That was easy.
They should be happy that restrooms are not desegregated yet. If the homosexuals win the culture war, desegregation will hit that venue too.
Personally, I side with liberty. Women tend to be more private and modest than men, so nothing is wrong with having some women only hours but not men only hours. The problem concerns what hours they choose. Some men are likely to be disenfranchised when they show up to workout and find only women may workout at that time. If the women hours are off peak when few want to workout anyway, then I say go for it.
I expect the women will get their segregated hours for the reason noted by Jeff John Roberts. Ultimately no one will want to ruffle the feathers of the Religion of Peace. We all know how bad that can turn out.
I look forward to reading about the future controversy when the man who “identifies” as a woman demands to use the pool during the women-only hours. What fun these issues of “equality” provide us!
Is McGill a [ 100% ] privately funded institution ? Is Harvard ? If they are not , they should be. Then they can do whatever they want. I don’t want to pay for their stupidity with tax dollars. Actually , I don’t want to pay taxes at all.
If persons wish to attend an institution which is managed in accordance with their religious mores, then they need to attend an institution in which attendance is limited to members of their religion. Today’s mania for imposing one’s own religious practice on others is absurd.
I fear this less a bona fide gender issue than a Trojan Horse for Islamic student groups. This sort of thing has been going on for a long time at McGill. When I was on student council there 10 years ago, nearly every meeting involved some sort of vote on accommodating Muslim students — including handing over buildings for special prayer space. Since the meetings are public, the Islamic student groups would sometimes back the room with members of the Muslim community (who didn’t even attend McGill).
Unfortunately, the Islamic student groups were effective at gulling traditional left-leaning organizations at McGill — groups committed to labor, women and trans-gender rights, etc — to play along.
John, Giving an area for prayer is quite different than taking away the use of a public use facility for just one sex or sect, is far different than setting aside a room for prayer for one sect. I believe that McGill more than likely has a chapel on its campus, so as an atheist and leftist, I too would support Muslims getting a room for prayer. Banning others from observing or attending is another matter which I do not support.
Bad idea. I’m sure there are pools and gyms that they could get together to lease to make it female only. While I respect their right to their beliefs, they’ve got to realize that they can’t live in a modern society without some measure of assimilation.
“It is more than likely those on the right wing will support this as they support and love the Saudis.”
We’ll see how strongly the left agitates against this.
I have my doubts, as it comports rather well with college trends to infantilize women as needing protection from the inherent evil of men.
Reblogged this on The Grey Enigma.
I am on the left, and I think this is simply outrageous that we will be forced to take part in things that discriminate against any part of our society. They are NOT asking for religious freedom, but forcing THEIR religion and practices on us. It is the same as the anti-abortion folks who are trying to force us to accept their legal definition of a person and when life begins and ends. We had the outrageous conduct of Jeb Bush overriding the legal definition of life for his religious nuts. His and their definition was if the heart is still functioning, life is still there and the person is still alive. It is more than likely those on the right wing will support this as they support and love the Saudis.
What about transgenders and transgender-curious?
Facebook now offers over 58 options to choose from in the personal profile “Gender” space.
Will they each get their own 15 minutes of gym time?
I think men should have equal rights to un-female time in the gym.
And the left will gladly accept creeping Shariah.
We’re equal! We demand to be treated differently than men!
I’m confused. What am I supposed to teach my sons and daughters, and how am I supposed to treat women in general?
Separate but equal will ultimately work against women. Religious sensibilities of “Muslims” will ultimately put women last. Male Muslim speakers have already made demands that women should be excluded from their talks or put in a separate area to align with they claim is required by their religion that women be separated from men. Orthodox Jews recently staged a protest on a plane seeking to require women to sit separately from men or at least from orthodox jewish men. Women should be careful what they wish for they might just get it.