One Young Woman’s View Regarding the Burqa

The debate in France over religious coverings was once again revived as Sarkozy proclaimed that the burqa “is not a religious sign” but rather, “a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement…and will not be welcome in France.”

Though this declaration is not so shocking in light of France’s law, passed in 2004, banning Islamic veils or so-called “ostentatious religious symbols” from schools, coming from a country steeped in the principles of liberté, egalité, and fraternité, France’s aggressive campaign for secularism leaves one to seriously contemplate whether Sarkozy has overstepped the boundaries of religious and personal freedoms.

During a speech earlier this month in Cairo, President Obama urged Western countries “to avoid dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear,” further stating, “we cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretense of liberalism.”

Aside from the political back-and-forth, largely driven by deep ideological divides as to what truly constitutes religious liberty and personal freedom, there are complex and arguably untouchable cultural, social, and religious issues at the core of this debate.

Most importantly, we must realize that among the 5 million Muslims in France, there are Muslim women who do not wear the burqa, Muslim women who “choose” to wear the burqa and Muslim women who are “forced” to wear the burqa. And even so, the rhetoric of “choice” and “force” provides yet another facet of discourse. Despite great strides in women’s rights, it is difficult to determine, especially in the realm of religion – many with patriarchal roots, what is truly chosen and what is forced upon women in not only the religious context, but in social and political contexts as well. As a Western, and relatively non-religious woman, I won’t attempt such an undertaking as it would surely occur through a different historical lens.

And yet Sarkozy, a Western, Roman Catholic male, is apparently apt to determine upon which women the burqa is “forced” and, in the words of Sabria Jawhar, a journalist with The Huffington Post, to “rescue Muslim women locked in a tyrannical chokehold by Muslim men.” In what Jawhar labels as a “breathtaking moment of hubris” Sarkozy has “provided us with yet another example of how Western nations define human rights and the oppression of women.” Meanwhile, Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the official French Council for the Muslim Religion, believes that “to raise the subject like this, via a parliamentary committee, is a way of stigmatizing Islam and the Muslims of France.”

Written by Ashley, Law Student