Muslim women: Democracies against the veil
Posted 1:50 PM by Internal Voices in Labels: 12th Edition |
UN Photo/Luke Powell |
Ana Patricia Carvalho, UNRIC Brussels
“No woman should be forced to wear religious apparel by her community or family. Nobody should be forced to go to any kind of house of prayer. We say no to oppressive doctrines or laws which limit the freedom of individuals.”
Thorbjorn Jagland
Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Since 1948, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights has been calling for “freedom of thought, conscience and religion”. In this sense, men and women are entitled to choose their religion or belief and manifest it “either alone or in a community with others, in public or in private, (…) in teaching, practice, worship and observance”.
In 2010, the French government approved a law banning from public places all religiously associated veils, including the burqa and the niqab, making France the first European country to implement such measures, basing itself on the defense of women’s rights: the veil symbolizes the subordination of women in Muslim societies.
Initially, burqas were banned from schools and public buildings, and eventually, from all public places. This decision was based on three main reasons: 1- for security, 2- that covered faces restrict communication, and 3- to tackle Muslim women’s subjugation. Following France, other European countries such as Spain and Belgium also adopted the rule that prohibits women from wearing their traditional head or face hijab, with or against their will.
Muslim society has different views about what women’s dress code entails and how the body should or should not be covered. Islam’s dress code is based on female modesty and depends on the place, time and social class. They may use a burqa, which covers the face and the body, a veil covering their face or just a headscarf. Different meanings can also be attributed to them as women can use it for religious purposes: as a sign of devotion to their faith or for cultural or political purposes, for instance as a symbol of protest against Westernization.
This issue causes controversy and raises many questions in democratic countries, particularly in the face of Europe’s tradition of secularism. The use of the burqa is creating some tensions between western countries’ values and Muslim populations who go to these countries to seek equal rights and freedom of religion. These countries claim that the veil is a symbol of woman’s subordination and Islamic fundamentalism that does not reflect the freedom and democracy they practice.
Does Europe have the right to ban the wearing of veils from its countries? And how will this decision affect the Muslim population living there?
This ban affects Muslim women’s identity regarding their perceptions of modesty, devotion and respect for their religion. Democracy entails freedom of expression. Legally forcing women not to wear a veil when it is their wish to do so, is perhaps not the best way forward. In a way, forcing them not to wear a burqa almost amounts to forcing them to wear it. The portrayal of this particular clothing as a synonym for Islamic radicalism may lead to the discrimination of the Muslim populations living in the countries that adopt the banning of the veil. It could represent a form of oppression on the basis of a religious practice, giving room to Islamophobia.
Many Muslim women are prevented from making their own choices in many situations and their lives are defined by their community (such as what to wear and which directions to take in life). In this sense, the solution to this problematic is certainly not easy but it should include a prohibition of the coercion of the use of burqas, or any other religious symbols or practices for religious motives. It is imperative not to interfere with someone’s religious practice or belief but rather give women the opportunity to choose what they really want to wear.
This powerful symbol reminds us of the gap between the West and the Muslim community’s system of values which should be based on cultural relativism, leading Europe to being tolerant towards acceptable Islamic practices in their countries. The use of the burqa is seen as outrageous by the West, and even more by western women, but that feeling is not shared by all Muslim women.
Promoting gender equality and empowering women is one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which involves the realization of women’s rights. It needs to be backed up by meaningful laws and their subsequent implementation as well as by services for the protection and prevention of violation of women’s rights. In this sense, European countries’ legislation must be exemplary in protecting the rights of Islamic women, including their rights as free individuals living in the West.
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