Another Young Woman’s View Regarding the Burqa

On June 22, French President Nicolas Sarkozy elicited a wave of criticism by supporting a controversial push to ban women from wearing the burqa in public in France. Speaking to Parliament, Sarkozy declared that, “the burqa is not a religious sign. It is a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement….It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.” Sarkozy’s comments have sparked debate on the role of the burqa and its relation to women’s rights.

There are some women who are forced to wear the burqa. Even when burqa wearing is not required by the state, many women’s husbands and families do require them to wear the burqa through threats and use of force. As many will agree, when a woman is forced to wear a burqa against her will, her dignity and her autonomy are clearly being violated. However, Sarkozy’s comments do not just apply to women forced to wear the burqa. His comments also apply to the many women who don the burqa by choice. In these cases, many argue, women are acting under their own free will, and are thus not being subjugated. However, I believe we must look at the idea of choice in a wider lens.

Yes, the burqa has become part of many Muslim women’s cultural fabric and they choose to wear it as such, but let us not forget the origins of this cultural fabric. Any desire today that women have to don the burqa in deference to cultural norms bears with it deference to the patriarchal and misogynistic ideas that birthed those cultural norms. Women are required to cover themselves in order to deflect sexual attention and to exhibit modesty. Yet, men are not required to cover their bodies in a similar manner. Women, when covered by a burqa in public are removed, hidden from public life, and relegated to the role of observers.

The burqa, in maintaining a woman’s “modesty”, prevents her from being fully integrated into society. How is a woman in a burqa, which hides her face, her posture and even her hands, supposed to engage in any independent public actions? Would she be able to make a business deal? Would she be able to run for public office? Would she be able to testify in a trial? Would an employer be willing to hire her? The burqa unequivocally denies women equality in the public sphere, regardless of whether they choose to wear it. Further, the burqa perpetuates inequality through future generations, by hindering young women’s academic pursuits. Would a teacher allow a young woman to take a test, when the burqa ensured that she couldn’t be monitored? Would a young woman in a burqa be allowed in the science lab, where her loose flowing clothing would be exposed to open flames or cause her to spill hazardous chemicals? Would a college professor call on a young woman in a burqa, when he could not see her raised hand? The burqa creates such a severe disadvantage in the advancement of women that, even if women don the burqa by choice, they are relegated to the role of second-class citizens as a result.

Written by Sierra, Law Student