You Are Not “Saving” Muslim Women by Banning Face Coverings
by Anchal Agarwal
Before we delve into the article for this week, We at the Humans of Human Rights condemn the oppression, violence and disenfranchisement against Palestinians which has been going on for decades and is reaching new heights today. To shed some light on the issue, we would be covering different aspects of ethnic cleansing and settler colonialism with regards to Israel and Palestine. If you have some suggestions or resources to share, kindly use the comments section.
Gayatri Spivak in ‘Can the subaltern speak?’ reflects on the weaponisation of women’s rights between the coloniser and the colonised as ‘white men saving brown women from brown men’ (Spivak, 1998). But what if brown women, women of colour or women of marginalised communities do not need saving?
Imperialism today is manifesting in the form of marginalization of minority communities, under the guise of granting freedom and protecting their human rights. The latest being, banning face coverings including burqa and hijab, normally donned by Muslim women as part of their religious clothing. Governments around the world are targeting Muslim bodies and regulating their garments under the disguise of saving women by saying ‘no’ to extremism (Cetinkaya, 2021). Brown men are projected as a threat to Muslim women and Europe, often by political right-wing politicians and parties, who then adopt the rhetoric of protection and the emancipation of women. Sri Lanka has become the latest nation where the cabinet approved the drafting of legislation to ban face coverings, although the legislation is yet to be approved by the Parliament (Ganguly, 2021). Legislation to ban face coverings in Sri Lanka was introduced in the aftermath of Easter bombings by local extremist groups. Muslim women were subjected to social exclusion and were denied admission to public spaces due to a temporary ban on face coverings (MENAFN, 2021). The government has failed to provide evidence that establishes a relationship between face coverings and national security (Ganguly, 2021).
Sarath Weerasekara, a retired public security minister, was heard referring to face veils as a “sign of religious extremism” and expressed concerns for national security.
In European Union, France became the first country to enact a law to ban headscarves in public schools in 2004. In 2010, France banned face coverings including niqabs and burqa in public spaces. Earlier this year, the French MPs approved the ‘anti-separatism’ bill, which will affect the entire Muslim community. The said bill is supposedly based on secular principles and gives the state the authority to shut down places of worship and schools imparting religious education if found to be adhering to extremist ideologies. The law also demands “religious neutrality” in garments for people working in public spaces for private companies.
Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium and Bulgaria have similar laws, banning face coverings in public settings. Switzerland enacted the ban on March 7, 2021, which restricts women from using face coverings. Though the ban does not explicitly mention the Muslim community, it was reported by the Swiss media as a “burqa ban”. The proposal was introduced by the Egerkingen committee which is affiliated with the Swiss People’s Party, a right-wing populist party. The proposal was brought for people’s vote as Switzerland is a direct democracy. The proposal was passed by a slight majority; however, the Swiss government opposed such a proposal.
The Netherlands has also enacted the law which bans face coverings, including burqa and niqab in some specific public settings. These include educational institutions, health institutions and public transport. The ban is not applicable for public streets; however, police personnel can ask an individual to remove the covering for identification purposes (Casert & Furtula, 2019). A far-right politician and senator, Marjolein Faber-Van de Klashorst, called it “a historical day because this is the first step to de-Islamise Netherlands” and laid out the government’s plan to close mosques. The government has termed this law as “religion-neutral” and claims that women would still have the autonomy to choose how to dress. Despite the exemption of streets and private spaces, there is no law barring private spaces to enact laws of their own.
These right-wing administrations and parties, by referring to mere pieces of clothing as religious extremism, are inciting Islamaphobia. By regulating Muslim women’s garments under the garb of national security, they are violating these women’s right to religious freedom. It is discriminatory to force women to wear certain types of garments or restrict women from wearing certain pieces of garments. Nations are associating headscarves and face coverings to forms of extremism rather than as a cultural symbol. The French government and community are based on the principles of equality, liberty and secularity; however, such discriminatory behaviour against a minority community over pieces of religious clothing and associating them with extremism violates the basic principles of the French nation. The government in the Netherlands flouted the norms of secularity by following the lead of other European nations and introducing a ban on face coverings. By barring entry to educational, health and government institutions, the government is limiting the places accessible for Muslim women, who voluntarily wear a face covering or are uncomfortable without one in public spaces.
Taqwa Bint Ali, founder of a French fashion platform in her interview with Hafsa Lodi from Vogue says, “there is a real infantilization of Muslim women. We live in a society where women wearing hijab are prevented from working, from doing sports, from singing on a TV show, and from accompanying children on a school outing. All these polemics and laws that have a desire to ‘liberate’ women push these women to stay home. It is very ironic when the cliches perceive us as women who do not leave the house and do not work because of male authority when in reality, it is the government that wants to erase us from society” (Lodi, 2021).
Implementation of laws marginalising Muslim women not only shows a lack of solidarity between mainstream feminism with Muslim women. This is also a weaponisation of women’s rights to further racism and Islamophobia, which results in the ignoration of the subjugation of Muslim women. Discontending Islam with feminism excludes voices of Muslim women from the mainstream narrative. “Solidarity is an expression of women being united in their struggles despite their differences in race, class and sexuality” (Cetinkaya, 2021).
Such laws are confining Muslim women to their households and prohibiting them from participating in public spaces which affect their education, interaction and employment. The governments are either operating on the notion that Muslim women are forced to wear religious garments or are just ignorant of the fact that women can wear these garments voluntarily. Such narratives need to be addressed and solidarities need to be forged between feminist movements and Muslim women.
References:
Casert, R., & Furtula, A. (2019, January 14). Netherlands approves limited ban on niqab and burqa. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/netherlands-burqa-niqab-ban-public-health-education-islam-a8418551.html
Cetinkaya, H. (2021, April 26). Feminist solidarity after the Swiss referendum: Islamophobia and the politics of veiling. Engenderings. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/gender/2021/04/26/feminist-solidarity-after-the-swiss-referendum-islamophobia-and-the-politics-of-veiling/
Ganguly, M. (2021, May 4). Sri Lanka Face Covering Ban Latest Blow for Muslim Women. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/05/04/sri-lanka-face-covering-ban-latest-blow-muslim-women
MENAFN. (2021, May 4). Sri Lanka face-covering ban seen as blow for Muslim women. https://menafn.com/1102026178/Sri-Lanka-face-covering-ban-seen-as-blow-for-Muslim-women
Lodi, H. (2021, April 5). As a French Hijabi, This is What I Think of My Country’s Controversial Hijab Ban. Vogue Arabia. https://en.vogue.me/culture/france-hijab-ban-impact/
Spivak, G. C. (1998). Can the subaltern speak? Colbert B.
