Sarkozy speaks out against Burqa in France
Yesterday the French president said "The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic."
This follows the establishment of a parliamentary commission to investigate whether the wearing of the burqa should be banned in public.
Following his speech, he is due to meet the Emir of Qatar - I wonder if he will suggest to him that women there should also remove their veils? If his view is that it is wrong in France as it "reduces them to servitude and undermines their dignity" then he ought to make the same point to the Emir about women in Qatar.
Except he won't. His speech yesterday was held to the French parliament - a right he put into the constitution for himself last year. This is the first time that such a speech has been held in over a century. Following in the footsteps of his imperial predecessor at yesterday's speech, it seems that in a hundred years, little has changed in Mr Sarkozy's mind about imposing his version of liberal values.
If she is being forced to wear it - and this of course does happen - then what that woman needs is not a patronising president, but real tools to help her take control of her life - education and economics.
Besides, those women who wear burqa's are a tiny minority of Muslim women - why single those who are forced to wear it as sufferers of domestic oppression, when so many millions of women face domestic violence? A more holistic approach would reap greater benefits for women in both quality and quantity. It seems from his words that he cares more about his own popularity, then making changes for burqa-wearing women.
This follows the establishment of a parliamentary commission to investigate whether the wearing of the burqa should be banned in public.
Following his speech, he is due to meet the Emir of Qatar - I wonder if he will suggest to him that women there should also remove their veils? If his view is that it is wrong in France as it "reduces them to servitude and undermines their dignity" then he ought to make the same point to the Emir about women in Qatar.
Except he won't. His speech yesterday was held to the French parliament - a right he put into the constitution for himself last year. This is the first time that such a speech has been held in over a century. Following in the footsteps of his imperial predecessor at yesterday's speech, it seems that in a hundred years, little has changed in Mr Sarkozy's mind about imposing his version of liberal values.
Let's remember what Obama said in Cairo, ‘it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practising religion as they see fit - for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.’
In the shadow of the sumptuous Versailles Palace, Sarkozy's comments seem little other than cheap shots at winning political points, without really addressing the heart of the issue. How can a politician determine what a woman should wear? If she is wearing it out of choice - as some women do - not that I necessarily agree with them - then refusing a women's right to choose what to wear is a form of oppression that women have long fought against.If she is being forced to wear it - and this of course does happen - then what that woman needs is not a patronising president, but real tools to help her take control of her life - education and economics.
Besides, those women who wear burqa's are a tiny minority of Muslim women - why single those who are forced to wear it as sufferers of domestic oppression, when so many millions of women face domestic violence? A more holistic approach would reap greater benefits for women in both quality and quantity. It seems from his words that he cares more about his own popularity, then making changes for burqa-wearing women.
Labels: Muslim, Muslim Veil, Muslim women, Niqab, spirit21, women
posted by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed at 11:42
10 Comments:
Once again it is not issues of what is inside peoples heads that causes waves but what is on top of, in this case burqah. French President's wife has spent her entire life living a very free woman, no one is questioning that and rightly so, even if she (or anyone else for that matter) wears nothing.
Burqahs are an awful attire wrongly associated with Islam as habit pre date this religion, however, freedom to wear nothing, have abortions up to seventh month of pregnancy are regarded as a woman's right, why can the burqah not be regarded same too?
That man makes me cross on so many levels. Do you think he's suffering from small man syndrome? Aren't there more important things happening in France for him to be worrying about? Hasn't the credit crunch hit there yet? Is unemployment and crime etc not a problem in France? Maybe we should all move there so the only thing we have to worry about is setting free the small proportion of burqa-wearing women who are being forced to do so. Silly man.
All his comments do is to generate hate, and foster mistrust. They do nothing for the women - and why doesn't he let them speak for what they want?
I find him so patronising & worrying. The problem of the oppression of women is not one that is exclusively related to the practice of Islam. Women of all religions and colours are subjected to violence and oppression everyday (as are, we must concede, some men), so why this focus on Islam? Oh yes, it is popular. Will he ban the wearing of the crucifix? I think not. Once again it seems that it is a case of one law for 'us' and another for 'them'. The law MUST be applied equally to all. All else is hypocrisy and oppression by the self proclaimed 'tolerant' dressed up as liberalism.
Good post. While I am sure they exist, most women in the West cover out of their own free will. Especially if you were to consider 2nd and 3rd generation Muslims... does one really believe that you could force those born and bred in the West to wear a veil against their will?
Sarkozy is just playing a topic that has broad appeal across the political spectrum. Snooty Frenchies want to exert their power in the only area that they seem to have have powers left in--- religious persecution of minorities. I wrote about how this same aura of religious persecution/conformism drove the Pilgrims to escape to America hundreds of years ago:
Sarkozy Distracting French Public by Crusading Against Muslim Women’s Rights to Hijab
P.S. Funnily enough, the word verification for posting my comment was "borki" ..
http://www.iengage.org.uk/component/content/article/1-news/404-daily-express-calls-for-banning-the-burqa
Amad, I completely agree - and you wrote a good post on Muslim matters as well, pointing out how 'freeing' Muslim women in Muslim countries is often the pretext for invasion.
iEngage, it would be nice if you actually *wrote a comment* rather than just posted a link, much more sociable, don't you think?
oh how i wanted to box his ears, well then, auntie dear, come and get me, it's only halfway round the globe, pffft...
With regard to Obama's speach where he said "˜it is important for Western countries to avoid .... dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear".
Whilst I have no problem with the burqa and fully support a womans right to wear it, I think there was another point which is often forgotten, and which Mr Sarkozy was adressing (I, for one, do not forget this point because my previous jobe brought me into contact with thie problem on a daily basis).
That point is that many Muslim women wear the burqa because they are told to. I have had to deal with many woman who did not want to wear 'Islamic' clothes, others who feared domestic violence for a range of reasons including talking to men, and many who were trying to run away from 'Islam'.
I put the 'Islam' in quotes because it was not really Islam that they were trying to run away from, it was opporessive men who used Islam as the excuse of their oppression.
Neither men or women need special clothing to be good Muslims, and if Islam was working as it should people would be flocking to join it, and no one would be running away. In my opinion (it is only an opinion) female Islamic clothing can be attractive and make women interesting without being overtly sexual, so women don't become dissadvantaged when they can't 'flash their boobs' anymore. All too often drab female Islamic clothing seems to be used to hide women in the background and this can be oppressive. As this very blog website shows, Muslim women have a role to play right up front, not hidden away. We can't do much about that in the Islamic world but in the west the rights of Muslim women to participate fully in the life of their country should be supported. I do accept that the French may be going too far the other way by trying to ban female Islamic clothes in some places, this can also be oppressive.
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