Ban of Ze Burqa

The veil has been making head-lines as France debates a partial ban on the traditionally Islamic face-coverings. The ban would include all veils that cover the face from being worn in public places, while receiving public services, and while riding public transportation. The ban would not render the veil illegal in all situations, but it would give the police credence when asking women to remove the garment (1).

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has not so much called for a complete ban on the veil, but he was quoted as saying that the item of clothing was “not welcome” in France (2). For many French government officials the garment represents oppression rather than religious freedom. Opinion polls have shown that the majority of French citizens agree with their president and are in favor of a ban. This law would not affect many citizens, because despite France having the largest Muslim population in Europe, totaling around five million, there are reportedly no more than a couple thousand who wear the full body covering (3).

A French Parliamentary Committee published a report recommending the ban, commenting that people displaying “radical religious practice[s]” should be denied citizenship. “The wearing of the full veil is a challenge to our republic. This is unacceptable. We must condemn this excess,” said the report3. To this effect the French government recently denied a man citizenship because he forces his French wife to wear a face-covering veil. The basis of the decision was reportedly the disrespect the applicant showed for French principles. He was reported to say that he did not respect the equality of women and would not respect the Secularist Principles of France. Previously a woman was denied citizenship based on her use of the Islamic garb; the French government claimed that she was not assimilating herself to core French values (4).

The Origin of the Veil

The burqa or chador is a traditional Islamic covering worn by a woman that covers the entire body, leaving a slit, sometimes made of mesh, for the eyes. Generally black in color, the garb traditionally represents modesty and dignity. Similarly the Hijab, commonly referred to as the veil, is a covering of a woman’s face, head, or body.

Historically, privileged women in the Byzantine, Greek, and Persian Empires wore the veil as a symbol of their honor and integrity. Arab states assimilated to this practice during conquests of these Empires. The practice spread among urban, upper-class women who used it to distinguish themselves from lower classes. In the final decades of the 20th century, the veil became a popular symbol in Islamist movements, representing a woman’s choice to identify herself with her religion. The veil has also been used as a symbol of rejecting Western culture and reaffirming Islamic values. Western movements have been known to argue that it represents the oppression of women and general cultural backwardness (5,6).

The Origin of the Debate

Across Europe, the veil has been an intensely contested topic. The debates have lead to different results - including a partial ban in public spaces such as schools, hospitals, and public transportation.

In 2004, the French government passed a law that banned wearing face-covering veils in the classroom. The idea was to maintain a separation of church and state in the classroom; the law considered the veil an “ostentatious” religious symbol7. Britain does not have a direct law that bans the veil, but allows schools to decide their own dress code. The British National Party has called for ban of the veil in schools, while the UK Independence Party (UKIP) has gone one step further in calling for a total ban of the garment. In January of 2010, Secretary of Schools said that telling people what they can and cannot wear in public is “not British” (8).

Similar laws that ban the veil in public spaces have been passed in a number of other European countries. Turkey, a largely Muslim state with strong secular roots, eased a law in 2008 that allows for headscarves in universities to be tied loosely under the chin. Veils that cover the neck are still banned and despite complaints that young girls are being denied an education because of these laws, the government has refused to further ease the restrictions. Italy has reintroduced a “public order law” that disallows wearing masks such as the face-covering veil; several Belgium districts have similarly resurrected local laws that ban the wearing of masks, having the same effect as in Italy. Germany and Denmark have both had debates on the wearing of the veil by teachers and other civil servants. Germany, based on a federal Constitutional Court ruling, has not banned teachers from wearing the veil nationwide but allows individual states to decide. Denmark has banned the veil, and similar religious symbols such as the crucifixes and Jewish skullcaps, from being worn by judges in the courtroom (8).

Why has the burqa been so debated? Specifically governments in Europe have been debating the use of the face-covering veil for years. Is it simply a movement for a more secular state? Is it an attack against Muslims?

For the Ban

Proponents of the veil ban in France have argued that it is a ban for public security and secularist values. Supporters arguing for public security have argued that the entire body covering could be dangerous in public spaces. Many French government workers have also argued that the veil goes against French values. Speaker Bernard Accoyer said to the French National Assembly, “The full veil represents in an extraordinary way everything that France spontaneously rejects. It’s a symbol of the subjugation of women and the banner of extremist fundamentalism.” Those rejecting the veil often classify it as a symbol of oppression and a rejection of secularism (9).

Against the Ban

Many opponents of the ban regard the controversial law as an attack on Muslims. Specifically in France, the government for years has been dealing with an influx of Muslim immigrants. In 2005 a series of riots broke out among young people, generally of Middle East descent, over a feeling of inequality in the job market (10).

While the French government has taken steps toward integration, a social tension between citizens of Middle Eastern origin and those of French decent is apparent. An article in the Christian Science Monitor suggested that a law even partially banning the burqa would only place more tension on an already stressed relation. “If anything, a ban would further alienate and stigmatize Muslims, not enfold them in French society” (11). In addition some have argued that this ban could be used to spread “hard-line propaganda”. As well it is suggested that this ban represents an unfair treatment of women, who often are under familial pressure to wear the burqa (12). For opponents of the ban, being able to wear the veil is representative of freedom of choice.

The Future

French Parliament is still debating the possibility of a partial-ban on the veil, but no matter the decision, the question has raised tensions and questions for secular governments and Muslim women throughout the world. French proponents of the ban may view the prospective law as a way to retain secular values and public safety, but for many, the potential ban represents a direct attack on Muslim culture and basic freedoms.