How do you feel about the burka?
France is more than a little negative.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t know. I see the argument that some women are being forced to wear the burka, directly or indirectly, and that this is an affront to our sense of liberty and justice. I also see the argument that says this is an argument best won by the moderating influence of time. Moreover, I see the argument that says this is not the proper role of the government.
Part of me wants to say that the Fifth Republic is acting to prevent the repression of women by being forced to wear the burka. The rest of me, though, doesn’t. The rest of me says this isn’t about laicite or secularism, but about Islamophobia and nativism.
Even if I were to accept the premise on which this restriction of liberty is proposed, I would have to reject the proposal. Firstly, it strikes me that the risks involved in prohibiting the wearing of a garment are great. The potential to then say that all religious symbols are forbidden, and then symbols of political organisations that threaten the state, seems to me to be non-trivial given the effects. Secondly, it is monstrously illiberal. Thirdly, and most importantly if the aim is to foster integration, it simply cannot work. Promoting tolerance by stigmatising a group seems to be up on the list of oxymorons between ‘political agreement’ and ‘military intelligence’.
The premise simply does not hold up to even the briefest examination. Then there is the language used in the debate. Despite his recent, half-hearted backpedalling, President Sarkozy did much to foment this action by starting a debate about what it is to be French. This proposal was not done in concert with the Muslims communities of France; it was raised in a parliamentary committee, far from the banlieues. No account was made of individual choice, or whether there were ways to coax people out from behind the burka.
Let us recall Article X of the Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen – available on the French Justice Ministry’s website:
Nul ne doit être inquiété pour ses opinions, mêmes religieuses, pourvu que leur manifestation ne trouble pas l’order public établi par la loi
no-one should be troubled for their opinions, including religious opinions, so long as their promulgation does not cause a breach of the peace (my translation)
Certainly, some will have been honestly concerned about the oppression of women, although they seem not to have considered the possibility that one of the 1900 or so women who apparently where the burka might freely choose to do so. However, the hamfistedness of the proposal renders that moot. Moreover, its promulgation has been a means, albeit with the help, unsought or not, of Len Pen et al, of tarring all French Muslims as unFrench.
This is not about liberty. This is not about secularism. This is not about laicité.
This is about raising awareness of the other. This is about making life harder for the other. This is about stigmatising the other.
Where someone is required to assert his/her identity from a photo, do you consider it acceptable for that person to do so while wearing a mask? Should people be allowed to go through passport control, draw money from a bank account, use a travel warrant with a photo ID, sit an exam, all while wearing a face-covering mask?
In some countries, that might be considered acceptable but in Britain and presumably in France it is not considered acceptable. For ID purposes, people are required to show their faces and as the face is not a sexual organ that surely cannot be regarded as in any way objectionable.
As I understand it, the French are considering banning the Islamic face covering in such circumstances or in others where a covered face might cause alarm or comprehension difficulties. All that seems perfectly reasonable to me and I only wish our own government would stop pussyfooting around and would have the courage to enact similar rules.
Of course some Muslims will play the prejudice card just as some black people do when rightly challenged for antisocial behaviour but that should not deter anyone.
Whether the burka is a symbol of female subjection is a hotly debated question and I don’t think it is an argument that the government should get into. On the other hand, for the purposes mentioned above it is right for government to be involved because banks, transport companies, etc. do not possess the authority on their own to make such rules. A global “show your face to establish your identity” rule is perfectly reasonable and I would welcome it. If women want to cover their faces at other times, I wouldn’t object.
There are times when hair-splitting philosophical discussion is too punctilious for its own good good and fails to see the wood for the trees.
ST,
For ID purposes and so on, absolutely you’re right. I think it should be done sensitively, but it should be done.
The proposals in France are for all publicly provided services – including things like buses. That is going far too far. It is not about checking someone’s identity when their identity needs to be checked; it is about making it impossible to go about your daily life wearing a burka.
xD.