Ban on burqa in France!*****
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Farida Shaikh
Women wearing the burqa would not be accepted on French territory. 'The problem of the burqa is not a religious problem; it is a problem of the dignity of women. It is a symbol of subservience, of submission. The burqa will not be welcome in our French republic,' said President Nicolas Sarkozy in June 2009. Burqa ban was imposed in France, this year about six weeks ago. It was labelled by the author of 'In the Land of Invisible Women,' Qanta A Ahmed, who has experience of practicing medicine in Saudi Arabia, as a brave step that Muslims should welcome. Much similar voice was heard from the Jewish World Review and the Christian Science Monitor. When a woman wears a hijab, a burqa, a veil, a scarf to cover her head and face partially or nearly completely it is generally supposed that she is making a strong statement. It is not so when a man grows a beard or a moustache which camouflages his face. Why is this so? The meaning conveyed by the woman in burqa or hijab is contrary to the concept of a secular state, where private and public space is defined; in the country, of which she is a citizen, religion is a private affair. By wearing a burqa in public she is contradicting the dichotomy that the state upholds. The government therefore bans the burqa or veil, for it is the citizens, female and male, that give definition to a nation which necessarily need to contain harmony in concepts and ideas. This analysis is aside of what is, if at all, contained in the Bible or the Torah on the subject and oversight of the religious basis of having a beard or moustache. In France the liberals who favour individual freedom and moderate political and social reform assert that niqab in public defies the secular state. The liberals declare that ban on burqa in public, infringes the personal freedom of the citizenry, and the Islamist, a person belonging to the Muslim world, cites the incorrect interpretation of the Quran particularly drawing reference from Surah Al-Nur: 31 meaning 'to draw [it] over their bosom' as integral to female modesty and Surah Al-Ahzab: 53 to speak from behind a hijab meaning a curtain. However, a much more clear understanding is available on the subject from the prevailing practices at the annual Muslim pilgrimage. During Haj and Umrah a woman's dress code is not specified, as it is, for a man. A woman may wear whatever clothing she wishes. And though she does not have to abide by set specification she is required to wear clothing of any colour which is surely less beautiful and less attractive. The dress should fulfil the Islamic condition of a modest dress. According to the Ministry of Haj of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during Haj and Umrah a man's head should not be covered. It is opposite for the women, a woman's head should be covered leaving her face, hands and upper part of the feet in sandals exposed and uncovered. Very recently, I observed that at the immigration counter of Jeddah International Airport there was a separate enclosure exclusively for women in burqa with the veil and niqab drawn over their faces. Their hands were covered in white gloves and their feet in socks and shoes. This group of seven or eight women were dressed differently for the purpose of performing Umrah. The Harem Sharif in Mecca is maintained and cared for by nearly 2000 male scavengers and female workers. In the women's enclave of the mosque there were women workers totally covered in black, even their eyes were nearly hidden under their niqab! On the periphery of the Quba Mosque in Madina I found women, totally covered under black burqa, selling tasbi (rosaries), crochet caps for men, variety of spices, socks and children's garment items. In dealing with customers their faces were not visible. France's minority Muslim is five-million strong; about 2000 women are believed to be in full face veils in the first European country to ban veils, burqa, and nikab. Neighbouring countries are also moving in the same direction in the midst of Muslim leaders who have said that the veil, burqa and nikab are not religious symbols, but a cultural practice. Therefore, their pragmatic views are expressed in not supporting the veil or the law banning it. Many Muslim scholars confirm that nothing in Islam requires the wearing of full veil. On the first day of the application of the ban, April 11, a young woman 32, arrested for defying the ban by joining the demonstration in Paris, said, "This law infringes my European rights, I cannot but defend them that is to say my freedom to come and go and my religious freedom," Her husband added: "According to this law, my wife would have to remain cloistered at home. Do you find that normal? She has been wearing a veil for 13 years and it has not shocked anyone." Many more have said the ban is not to uphold the secular tradition of France. It is plain and simple a vote winning exercise and stigmatising a portion of the population. The enforcement of this law is problematic as police officers will not be allowed to remove a woman's veil. Also the ban does not apply inside private cars, which come under road safety rules. However, police can take any woman, refusing to lift the veil, to the police station and be fined US$216. Those found guilty of forcing women to wear veils would have to pay a heavy fine of $43,000. About a year ago Bangladesh High Court ruled that 'attempts to coerce or impose a dress code on women clearly amount to a form of sexual harassment.' This followed when a government official called a woman an 'uncultured prostitute' for not wearing the burqa. The outraged headmistress took him to court. Legal experts add that 'it is a woman's choice to cover her head or not and nobody can force them to do so against her will.' According to the French government wearing the veil is a symbol of male oppression. The right groups accuse the government of attempting to stir up racial tension, of enforcing laws against increasing support for anti-immigration, and to capture more votes during election. Further more the head of UMP, the government party in France, said that Muslims have become more visible across Europe. They are pushing for separate identity and parallel community, and there is less and less sharing of a common culture and imagination. More importantly, 'the face is a way of recognising and respecting each other.' Then immediately the beard and the moustache in so many styles that cover the face of men need to be considered in the same paradigm. Would then, UMP move to ban the beard and moustache next. The writer is a sociologist and a freelance columnist
Women wearing the burqa would not be accepted on French territory. 'The problem of the burqa is not a religious problem; it is a problem of the dignity of women. It is a symbol of subservience, of submission. The burqa will not be welcome in our French republic,' said President Nicolas Sarkozy in June 2009. Burqa ban was imposed in France, this year about six weeks ago. It was labelled by the author of 'In the Land of Invisible Women,' Qanta A Ahmed, who has experience of practicing medicine in Saudi Arabia, as a brave step that Muslims should welcome. Much similar voice was heard from the Jewish World Review and the Christian Science Monitor. When a woman wears a hijab, a burqa, a veil, a scarf to cover her head and face partially or nearly completely it is generally supposed that she is making a strong statement. It is not so when a man grows a beard or a moustache which camouflages his face. Why is this so? The meaning conveyed by the woman in burqa or hijab is contrary to the concept of a secular state, where private and public space is defined; in the country, of which she is a citizen, religion is a private affair. By wearing a burqa in public she is contradicting the dichotomy that the state upholds. The government therefore bans the burqa or veil, for it is the citizens, female and male, that give definition to a nation which necessarily need to contain harmony in concepts and ideas. This analysis is aside of what is, if at all, contained in the Bible or the Torah on the subject and oversight of the religious basis of having a beard or moustache. In France the liberals who favour individual freedom and moderate political and social reform assert that niqab in public defies the secular state. The liberals declare that ban on burqa in public, infringes the personal freedom of the citizenry, and the Islamist, a person belonging to the Muslim world, cites the incorrect interpretation of the Quran particularly drawing reference from Surah Al-Nur: 31 meaning 'to draw [it] over their bosom' as integral to female modesty and Surah Al-Ahzab: 53 to speak from behind a hijab meaning a curtain. However, a much more clear understanding is available on the subject from the prevailing practices at the annual Muslim pilgrimage. During Haj and Umrah a woman's dress code is not specified, as it is, for a man. A woman may wear whatever clothing she wishes. And though she does not have to abide by set specification she is required to wear clothing of any colour which is surely less beautiful and less attractive. The dress should fulfil the Islamic condition of a modest dress. According to the Ministry of Haj of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during Haj and Umrah a man's head should not be covered. It is opposite for the women, a woman's head should be covered leaving her face, hands and upper part of the feet in sandals exposed and uncovered. Very recently, I observed that at the immigration counter of Jeddah International Airport there was a separate enclosure exclusively for women in burqa with the veil and niqab drawn over their faces. Their hands were covered in white gloves and their feet in socks and shoes. This group of seven or eight women were dressed differently for the purpose of performing Umrah. The Harem Sharif in Mecca is maintained and cared for by nearly 2000 male scavengers and female workers. In the women's enclave of the mosque there were women workers totally covered in black, even their eyes were nearly hidden under their niqab! On the periphery of the Quba Mosque in Madina I found women, totally covered under black burqa, selling tasbi (rosaries), crochet caps for men, variety of spices, socks and children's garment items. In dealing with customers their faces were not visible. France's minority Muslim is five-million strong; about 2000 women are believed to be in full face veils in the first European country to ban veils, burqa, and nikab. Neighbouring countries are also moving in the same direction in the midst of Muslim leaders who have said that the veil, burqa and nikab are not religious symbols, but a cultural practice. Therefore, their pragmatic views are expressed in not supporting the veil or the law banning it. Many Muslim scholars confirm that nothing in Islam requires the wearing of full veil. On the first day of the application of the ban, April 11, a young woman 32, arrested for defying the ban by joining the demonstration in Paris, said, "This law infringes my European rights, I cannot but defend them that is to say my freedom to come and go and my religious freedom," Her husband added: "According to this law, my wife would have to remain cloistered at home. Do you find that normal? She has been wearing a veil for 13 years and it has not shocked anyone." Many more have said the ban is not to uphold the secular tradition of France. It is plain and simple a vote winning exercise and stigmatising a portion of the population. The enforcement of this law is problematic as police officers will not be allowed to remove a woman's veil. Also the ban does not apply inside private cars, which come under road safety rules. However, police can take any woman, refusing to lift the veil, to the police station and be fined US$216. Those found guilty of forcing women to wear veils would have to pay a heavy fine of $43,000. About a year ago Bangladesh High Court ruled that 'attempts to coerce or impose a dress code on women clearly amount to a form of sexual harassment.' This followed when a government official called a woman an 'uncultured prostitute' for not wearing the burqa. The outraged headmistress took him to court. Legal experts add that 'it is a woman's choice to cover her head or not and nobody can force them to do so against her will.' According to the French government wearing the veil is a symbol of male oppression. The right groups accuse the government of attempting to stir up racial tension, of enforcing laws against increasing support for anti-immigration, and to capture more votes during election. Further more the head of UMP, the government party in France, said that Muslims have become more visible across Europe. They are pushing for separate identity and parallel community, and there is less and less sharing of a common culture and imagination. More importantly, 'the face is a way of recognising and respecting each other.' Then immediately the beard and the moustache in so many styles that cover the face of men need to be considered in the same paradigm. Would then, UMP move to ban the beard and moustache next. The writer is a sociologist and a freelance columnist