The Canadian Senate has given approval to a bill that will remove the mention of the phrase “barbaric cultural practices” from a title of a law passed by the previous government that bans forced marriage.
The bill was introduced by Liberal Sen. Mobina Jaffer in December 2015, just after the Liberals won the federal election and around six months after the earlier Conservative government cleared a bill called “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act”.
In her speech while introducing the bill Jaffer said that the usage of the term ”barbaric” was “insulting to cultures in Canada.”
The bill differs from the earlier version only as far as the title change.
Title Applies Offensive Term To Cultural Group As a Whole
Jaffer pointed out that while using the description “barbaric” was applicable in some cases, pairing of the terms ‘barbaric’ and ‘cultural,’ in context of the actions falling within the scope of the law removed the agency of the individual committing the act, and instead associated it with the cultural group as a whole.
She added that the title implied that the “practices are part of cultures and that these cultures are barbaric.”
The Conservative law is aimed at addressing the problem of forced marriage via a variety of measures such as adding polygamy as a reason to bar entry to Canada, putting 16 as the minimum age for marriage and creating new offenses for forced or underage marriage.
The bill also eliminated the provision that allowed provocation by “wrongful act or insult” as a partial defence in murder cases.
Minority Community Felt Targeted
The existing law itself continues to be under criticism from some. Green Party leader Elizabeth May pointed out during a recent discussion that the Bill S-7 had made illegal, or re-categorized, some things that were already deemed as illegal. She added that she believed the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act to be in the “same category as banning witchcraft”
With respect to the law title however there is cross-partisan consensus. Conservative Sen. Salma Ataullahjan agreed with Jaffer that the word “barbaric” was problematic.
He noted that the title was “incendiary and deeply harmful, “ and that it targeted an entire cultural group rather than individuals committing the acts. Ataullahjan added that conversations in his community revealed that many felt the title was “directed solely at them” and so in that way it acted to further “stigmatize and alienate them” from the larger community .
PM Trudeau Has Also Earlier Flagged Off Concerning Language
Jaffa is not the first a politician to raise concerns regarding language.
The now-prime minister Justin Trudeau had challenged the Conservative government in 2011 for using the term “barbaric” in Canada’s citizenship guide, saying that the term was not neutral enough to be used with the phrase“ cultural practices” .
He later clarified that he did think that “all violence against women is barbaric.”
The bill introduced by Jaffer is waiting for its first reading in the House of Commons.
