Iceland: A lesson?
Iceland has banned all strip clubs, opponents of the ban have compared it to Saudi Arabia where females are not allowed to show their faces in the street. Icelandic PM, Johanna Sigurdardottir, has made the usual protests against the industry siting “drug abuse, trafficking and prostitution” as reasons why the changes have been made. If you read the acticle you see the usual comparisons and slander about the industry, comparing the new legislation set for the start of next month to a ban on prostitution, rather a re-classification to prostitution. It should be noted that the Icelandic PM is in fact a lesbian, would she have been do interested if she had not?
Are members of parliament not meant to be impartial, meaning they campaign on things that are presented to them by the public, representing their interest rather than indulging their own interests and dogmas? The history of the forthcoming UK legislation has been submerged in corruption (the female MP who started the ball rolling was sacked as part of the expenses scandal), lack of public approval and of course lack of a long sighted thinking. How will the current changes end up?
The only way I could conceive of the government thinking that the legislation would be a success was if they wanted to close down the industry but were reticent in the current climate, because it will close many venues and put many into unemployment. In times of recession and struggle the extremists come out the closet and find a receptive audience in tabloid readers and religious types.
Will we follow Iceland Iceland in its crusade against the industry?