Open letter to France’s Minister, Ms Rossignol — You have insulted every women who wears hijab!
Open letter to France’s minister for women’s right.
Dear Ms Rossignol
In a recent interview, you compared us Muslim women, who wear the hijab, with ‘negroes who accepted slavery’.
What you said was so despicable that I really don’t know where to start. However, I’ll try.
Let’s start with who are and what you do.
So you’re the French Minister for Women’s Rights? This title suggests that you are pro women’s right, but you support the ban of Muslim women choosing to wear what they want. Doesn’t sound very pro women’s right to me. Do all women have the freedom to wear what they want? Or only if they dress like you? Surely as a women, you would never oppress other women, by telling them what they can and cannot wear?
You apologised for offending black people by using the term ‘negro’, but refused to even acknowledge that have offended millions of Muslim women. It is very telling that you only apologised due to the negative public reaction that you received. The reality is that you are a product of the French political elite, and like so many of your Government colleagues, your racial tendencies cannot be hidden for long. Your disregard for black people and Muslim women is evident, and your insincere apology will never change that.
The reality is that women like you will never see women like me as equals. To you, we are nothing but savages, a people to demonise for your selfish political gains.
You pretend you know better than us and that you are trying to liberate us by telling us to be more western like you. Trust me, we don’t need this patronising tone. It is exactly this kind of thinking that leads to more degradation of our rights, and attacks on Muslim women by Islamophobes, in the streets of Europe.
Many women say that the hijab liberates them, as they are seen as a human being and not just a sexual object. Who do you think you are taking that away from us?
You like to portray Europe and the West as role model societies, because you have “values” such as “freedom”, “equality between men and women”, and “freedom of speech”. You scream from rooftops saying how much better this is than in Muslim countries. However when it comes to Muslims, you deny us our right. It is you who want to enslave us, whilst we desire the freedom to our practise our religion in the way that we choose.
Tell me, would you compare the clothing of a nun to slavery? No.
This was not about you expressing your opinions and exercising your free speech, this was about you demonising Muslims.
This was hate speech.
If you really care about women’s rights, you should be fighting for our rights to wear the hijab and niqab. However you will never do that because your bigotry will never allow you to see us as equals.
Understand this clearly, there is nothing wrong with covering your hair. However there is everything wrong with demonising people because they believe in something different. Realise that it is our God given right to wear what we want, and we will be damned before we let the likes of you tell us what we can and cannot do.
Yours sincerely,
Saira Iman (a Muslim woman who doesn’t need you to speak for me or my sisters).
