With many tourists from the Middle East, I went into GAP one day and right behind me, a group of about six women with full face veils got out of some limousines with about two dozen body guards. Naturally, I became obsessed and followed them around the store. Well, as much as I could with the large ARMED guards positioned all over the floor surrounding them.
The women laughed and giggled under their veils, grabbing maternity jeans and t-shirts, handing piles off stuff to one of their body guards who schlepped it all to the counter. Such sights are not uncommon in Paris.
But the French government would like them to be.
A report recently released in France has reignited debate over a proposal to ban veils such as burqas and niqabs in public spaces.
In addition to the report, in early February 2010, French authorities ruled to deny citizenship to a Moroccan man who forces his wife to wear a burqa on the grounds that the act rejects French values of secularism and gender equality.
This opens up a plethora of perspectives on the nature of true freedom of religious expression and human rights. Should one have the freedom TO wear a head covering or the freedom FROM wearing it?
But before we go there (as we inevitably will!), Julie Cowdroy has compiled a ‘Need To Know’ post looking at some facts and some various perspectives on what is a very complex issue….
Q: What are burqas and niqabs?
They are coverings that fully shield one’s face and are worn by Muslim women. The difference between the two is that a burqa is a full body covering with a screen over the eyes and the niqab is a face covering with a slit for the eyes.
Q: How many people wear full-facial veils in France?
An estimated 1900 women
90% of those who do wear them are under 40
Two thirds are French citizens
A quarter are Muslim converts
During summer, the number increases, when rich tourists visit from the Gulf and are seen in expensive hotels and shopping complexes
NB. France has an Islamic population of over 5 million people (it is Europe’s largest Islamic community)
Niqab
Q: What would the ban look like?
All burqas and niqabs would be banned in public places such as hospitals, schools, post offices, banks and on public transport.
Q: Are there any other bans on religious adornment in France?
In 2004, the Muslim headscarf and other signs of religious affiliation such as large crosses and yarmulkes (Jewish head coverings) were banned in French public schools.
Q: Why do some believe full-facial veils should be banned?
It directly challenges France’s laïcité, which is the absence of any sign of religious affiliation in French society, especially in government affairs. This concept is often difficult for foreigners to understand, but very ingrained in France.
It infringes on the value of gender equality
It breaks down the French social model of integration
It deviates from an open, tolerant version of “French Islam”
Some are nervous about the rise of Salafism in France, which is a more extreme form of Islam
When a full-facial veil is worn, some women have become targets of violent attacks and racial taunts
According to some Islamic scholars, there is nothing in the Koran that says women should cover their faces
Some refer to it as “a law of liberation” rather than a ban
Ni Putes, Ni Soumises which means, “Neither Whores nor Submissives” is a French feminist movement who have called the burqa an “open-air prison” and said extremists were taking women’s bodies hostage. They recently protested against the burqa with signs that read, “Quand une petite fille grandit elle devient une femme. Pas une pute” which translates, “When a girl grows, she becomes a woman. Not a whore.”
Q: Why do some believe they shouldn’t be banned?
Constitutional rights of religious freedom
Freedom to wear what one wants
Not all women are forced to wear a burqa or niqab but choose to as a personal act and expression of their devotion and faith
Many women do cooperate when asked to unveil for security and identification reasons
The move could potentially drive some Muslims to extremism
Some say the restrictions are rooted in fear and intolerance of Islam
In 2009, Al Qaeda vowed revenge on France if it banned full-facial veils on its streets
Some say it is a political move which aims to divert attention from other issues, and is aimed at far-right voters before regional elections in March 2010
The European Court of Human Rights will challenge the ban if imposed
French couture designers have rich Saudi clients who they supply with Muslim garments such niqabs and abayas
Q: How did this debate come about, and what are the steps needed to impose such a ban?
In June 2009, Nicolas Sarkozy said full-facial veils were a sign of debasement and subservience and therefore “not welcome” in France. He then called for a national inquiry to debate whether the veils posed a threat to the republic’s secular values and gender equality.
A panel of 32 legislators have had hearings on the issue on reinforcing “republican ideas of secularism” over the past 6 months. The panel then voted on whether the findings should be submitted to the Parliament
It voted in favour of submitting the report, however 11 members of the panel who belong to the opposition Socialist party boycotted the vote. This demonstrates a deep divide within the panel about the effectiveness of the law and whether it is constitutional.
Now the report has been created and released, President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Prime-Minister Francois Fillon want the Parliament to debate whether or not France should adopt a non-binding resolution which states the full veil is “contrary to the values of the republic”
Only after that resolution is adopted will it be decided if a law should exist that prohibits women from wearing a full-facial veil in public places
It is likely nothing will be decided until after March 2010 due to France’s regional elections
Q: Can France impose a ban according to their Constitution?
Presently, France’s highest court, the Council of State, is exploring the possible legal framework for the proposed ban
It is important to note the Council of State rejected an appeal by a Moroccan woman in 2008 to become a French citizen on the basis that she was not sufficiently assimilated into French society and because of her “submission to her husband and her religious misogynist doctrine”.
Q: What do prominent Muslim females say about wearing full-facial veils?
Burqa
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Muslim Somali woman who was exiled from Somalia for her feminist, pro-West views and is now a Dutch MP. She once fully embraced wearing the burqa on her journey to discover more about her religion in her adolescence. Now, however, she rails against all aspects of oppression and inequality in the Muslim faith and supports a bans on burqas.
Malalai Joya, the Afghani MP who was exiled from Afghanistan for speaking up against religious fundamentalism speaks about what it feels like to wear a burqa in her book Raising My Voice: “I didn’t like it. Not one bit. It’s not only oppressive, but more difficult than you might think, and it took me a while to get the hang of it. My father said he could spot me in any crowd of women wearing burqas because of the way I walked. He said I looked like a penguin. You have no peripheral vision because of the netting in front of your eyes. And it’s hot and suffocating under there.”
However, as much as she doesn’t like it, she has to wear it for personal security reasons. In regards to whether Muslim women should wear it, she says it is a personal decision that each individual should to decide for herself.
Q: What are some other countries’ positions?
Turkey and Tunisia have, to varying degrees, banned head coverings in efforts to secularise their societies
The UK Independent Party want to ban burqas and niqabs in Britain in an effort to curb fundamentalism
A court in Egypt recently overturned a ban on students wearing niqabs stating: “a girl’s right to dress the way she sees fit in accordance with her beliefs and her social environment is a firm right that cannot be violated”
In a speech in Cairo in 2009, US President Obama said that Western countries should not tell Muslim women what to wear
CNN published an article written by Oumkheyr* on why she is proud to wear the burqa. She is Algerian, in her 40s, divorced, has a daughter, and resides in France.
Sandeep Gopalan is the head of the law department at the University of Ireland and makes some interesting points. She asks some pertinent questions in a NY Times op-ed piece.
So, there you have it. I must say I’m left a little bit confused by what the French government are trying to achieve. The women who do choose to wear full face veils….must they stay indoors? Is that progress? Is that even fair?
I do understand the idea of a secular and sexual equal society but I fail to understand how one person’s expression of their faith (be it a crucifix or a burqua or a Jewish head covering) can jeopordise the French way of life?
Should full-facial veils be banned in France? Should they be banned anywhere? Everywhere?
Top Comments
"The move could potentially drive some Muslims to extremism"
I can't believe you included this. This is akin to the people who say that 9/11 was brought on by the action of the US. A comeuppance. Shame on you for your intellectual laziness and moral cowardice.
Did theo van gogh deserve to be gutted like a pig for making a movie, because it enraged and offended others?
Islamist are responsible for their actions and should be treated as such.
http://askanatheist.tumblr.com
Chill... It is listed as one of the reasons that some people use in response to a burqa ban. Not a reason that I hold. Please read things in context.
WTF France? This is just wrong! RT @miafreedman @juliecowdroy France's lower house votes to ban full facial coverings http://bit.ly/9629ZX