Why France's Ban on Face Veils Is Bad News for Women - Louise Roug

A woman wearing an Islamic niqab veil stands outside the French Embassy during a demonstration on April 11, 2011 in London.

Image: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 

France's ban on women wearing face-covering veils is not discriminatory — at least, that was the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday. But there is a good argument to be made
that the ruling is bad for women, and certainly France has now joined an undesirable club counting such states as Iran and Saudi Arabia, which believe they should regulate how women dress.
A 24-year-old French woman of Pakistani origin had brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, arguing that the original 2011 French ban on face-covering veils, intended to protect her against oppression, instead violated her rights to freedom of religion, expression and assembly, and was discriminatory.
Dear France, please don't fight this fight in my name. I don't wear a face-covering veil, but I think I should have the right to do so if I wanted — especially in supposedly freedom-loving France, the country that gave us Voltaire.
The chief result of this ban will simply be that women who wear the veil will have fewer freedoms because they will be forced to stay at home. Those who choose to violate the law will incur a fine of about $200 or lessons in French citizenship.

The ban is also likely to further stigmatize Muslim women — some of whom do choose to wear the veil.

The ban is also likely to further stigmatize Muslim women — some of whom do choose to wear the veil. “The argument that the law protects women has no foundation,” said Geneviève Garrigos, president of Amnesty International France, according to France24. “Many [Muslim] women wear veils of their own free will," she said, adding: “The state does not exist to tell people how they should dress. Rather, it should allow them to make their own choices.” (Amnesty International supported the appeal by the woman who brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights.)

France's would-be presidential candidate, Kenza Drider (R), flanked by Hind Ahmas (L), who was attending court to defend her wearing of a face-covering veil, in Paris in December 2011.

In addition to the argument that the veil is degrading to women, French officials have asserted that the veil is an affront to French secular traditions. But that is clearly a slippery slope. For one thing, it negates the idea that different cultures and religions can live side by side. Plus, it raises questions about who gets to determine what are the right and proper cultural norms. Finally, there is a specious argument about terrorism and security: that the veil hides people's identities. But so do certain hats, scarves and beards.
France, which has one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe (estimated at up to 6 million people) was the first European country to ban face-covering veils in public. But others have since followed. (The BBC has a good breakdown here.)
The judgment cannot be appealed since it was handed down by the Grand Chamber of the European Court.
So much for Liberté, Égalité and Fraternité.

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A woman wearing an Islamic niqab veil stands outside the French Embassy during a demonstration on April 11, 2011 in London.

Image: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

By Louise Roug3 days ago

This post reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Mashable as a publication.

France's ban on women wearing face-covering veils is not discriminatory — at least, that was the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday. But there is a good argument to be made that the ruling is bad for women, and certainly France has now joined an undesirable club counting such states as Iran and Saudi Arabia, which believe they should regulate how women dress.
A 24-year-old French woman of Pakistani origin had brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, arguing that the original 2011 French ban on face-covering veils, intended to protect her against oppression, instead violated her rights to freedom of religion, expression and assembly, and was discriminatory.
Dear France, please don't fight this fight in my name. I don't wear a face-covering veil, but I think I should have the right to do so if I wanted — especially in supposedly freedom-loving France, the country that gave us Voltaire.
The chief result of this ban will simply be that women who wear the veil will have fewer freedoms because they will be forced to stay at home. Those who choose to violate the law will incur a fine of about $200 or lessons in French citizenship.

The ban is also likely to further stigmatize Muslim women — some of whom do choose to wear the veil.

The ban is also likely to further stigmatize Muslim women — some of whom do choose to wear the veil. “The argument that the law protects women has no foundation,” said Geneviève Garrigos, president of Amnesty International France, according to France24. “Many [Muslim] women wear veils of their own free will," she said, adding: “The state does not exist to tell people how they should dress. Rather, it should allow them to make their own choices.” (Amnesty International supported the appeal by the woman who brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights.)

France's would-be presidential candidate, Kenza Drider (R), flanked by Hind Ahmas (L), who was attending court to defend her wearing of a face-covering veil, in Paris in December 2011.

In addition to the argument that the veil is degrading to women, French officials have asserted that the veil is an affront to French secular traditions. But that is clearly a slippery slope. For one thing, it negates the idea that different cultures and religions can live side by side. Plus, it raises questions about who gets to determine what are the right and proper cultural norms. Finally, there is a specious argument about terrorism and security: that the veil hides people's identities. But so do certain hats, scarves and beards.
France, which has one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe (estimated at up to 6 million people) was the first European country to ban face-covering veils in public. But others have since followed. (The BBC has a good breakdown here.)
The judgment cannot be appealed since it was handed down by the Grand Chamber of the European Court.
So much for Liberté, Égalité and Fraternité.