Alycia Clark
4/16/2011
11:48 pm
Blog #12
On Monday April 11th, France enacted a law that would ban the wearing of veils such as burqa’s and niqab’s. President Sarkozy pushed for this movement, because of his own personal beliefs that “veils imprison women, and contradict this secular nation’s values of dignity and equality” and that “veils are not welcome in France.” sadly much of the public supported the ban. Punishment for breaking this rule consists of $215 (150 euro) or a French citizen class. The punishment is even higher if the police have to force a woman to remove it, or if they are a minor. Police are not allowed to remove a veil, and are not allowed to take women to jail because of it. After the law was put into place, a protest was held in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, which included many women wearing the veils despite the ban. This protest ended up with two women being taken away for taking part in an un-authorized protest.
This ban is argued very strongly by both sides. Those who are for it, believe that it is against French ways, and that these people need to assimilate, and act and dress as the French people do. Those who are against it, feel as though it is a racist act that is directly targeting Muslim women. They also believe that it is against their human rights, that in a truly free and democratic nation, people should be able to dress however they please.
It’s funny how, in today’s world, an act such as wearing a face veil that ultimately promotes religion and modesty, would be looked down upon. it may be slightly extreme for some, but modestly used to be looked on as a good thing. I believe that it is a small way of trying to come against the “enemy of the west”; the Muslims. Muslims are the second largest group in France, and this is just an all too common form of pitting one group over another, through subtle differences. Granted, it may not be for everyone, but those who chose to follow this practice, especially if due to a good, moral, religious reason, they should be allowed to. This is definitely a violation of human rights by violating the freedom of expression, and even religion. Although Sarkozy feels as though he is “liberating” these women, allowing them to make the decisions they please, is the most liberating thing he can do.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/11/france-burqa-ban-takes-ef_n_847366.html
1 comment:
I saw a few articles on this topic, and I believe that women should be able to dress how they please. To force these women to try and dress and be like the french is violating their right of expression. The veil is a representation of the Muslim religion, and enforcing a ban on the veil is infringing on their expression of religion.
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