French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke out strongly today to lawmakers about banning Muslim women from wearing burqas or niqab in France.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/22/sarkozy-burqas-are-not-we_n_218920.html

I agree with the President’s sentiments that the burqa is demeaning and degrading to women.  However, I don’t know that such a grand public denouncement and forceful legislative action are the most effective means for addressing this issue.  I know many Muslim women wear a headscarf as a choice and feel empowered by it.  (I doubt that attitudes toward the burqa are as liberating.)  I did not agree with the ban of religious clothing (Muslim headscarves, Jewish skullcaps, Christian crosses) from public school in 2004.  Admittedly, I am not an expert or eyewitness of French secular culture and values.  I also don’t follow many blogs, so I don’t know what others are saying about this.  Anyone have an opinion or additional insight to this issue?

1. Anne Says:
   June 22nd, 2009 at 8:28 pm

   It seems like a harsh statement. It should be the rights of the individuals to wear what they feel is appropriate. The burqa seems to be a symbol of oppression, but I am sure that is not always the case. It does seem like a slippery slope. Who should define what is appropriate or not, especially when things are done in the name of faith?

2. Rosemary Says:
   June 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 pm

   I agree. Seems like something difficult to enforce. What’s a burqa-wearing woman to do if she must wear the burqa for her beliefs (and to please family or husband). Is a woman who wears a burqa even free to remove it if told to by the government? So how would they enforce it? Would the woman be punished in some way? Of course, the feminist in me can’t imagine the burqa being anything other than a symbol of debasement–I just don’t think it’s something a government can regulate.

3. Judith Says:
   June 23rd, 2009 at 8:44 pm

   You bring up something I hadn’t even thought of but may be the most important issue…this type of legislation targets women who are already victims. Really, what would the punishment be? A fine? Arrest? Certainly women who wear burqas face immense pressure to do so from their family and religious community. To shame women (by forcing them not to comply with the modesty rules of their community) is not right. Wait? Am I really advocating for women to wear the burqa? No. It may be semantics, but I guess I’m against compelling them against their (?) will not to wear it.

4. Judith Says:
   June 25th, 2009 at 4:51 pm

   Washington Post has asked some panel members to comment on burqas in the US. A few give some insight into the French secularist mindset I wondered about.
   http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/2009/06/the_burqa_in_america/all.html

5. PUT ME IN A BOX » Blog Archive » Three Women Says:
   August 25th, 2009 at 1:12 pm

   [...]  The second woman I encountered through the pages of her book was Ayaan Hirsi Ali.  Born in Somalia, Hirsi Ali experienced the horrors of revolution and war as a young girl.  She was the daughter of a prominent revolutionary leader and only saw him for brief periods during her childhood.  Her family’s and country’s instability resulted in moves to Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, a variety of financial and educational barriers, and a strict Muslim culture always in the foreground.  When Ayaan Hirsi Ali was forced into an arranged marriage with an unknown distant cousin, she fled to and received asylum in The Netherlands.  Her book, Infidel, chronicles her story in an intimate way and recounts her budding enthusiasm for learning and Western life.  Hirsi Ali studied and graduated from University in The Netherlands, became a parliamentarian, and devotes her life to protecting and freeing women who are physically and mentally imprisoned in unloving Islamic families.  There are many challenging issues in Hirsi Ali’s story.  One, in particular, for me is her staunch belief that individual rights trump cultural ones.  Because of this driving ideology, she has found a home in more conservative political circles after becoming frustrated with the “multicultural” mindset of the liberal party.  She argues vigorously against special accommodations for conservative Muslim groups and strongly believes Muslims in the West should assimilate into Western culture.  I give her view credence because of her experiences, and they have forced me to reconsider my views on such things as the proposed burqa banning in France. [...]