Politics of the Veil

In April 2011, a law banning the burqa, a full-body covering that includes a mesh over the face, and the niqab, a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes was put into place in France. The French law imposes a fine of 150 euros (about $205) for wearing the items. The person breaking the law can be asked to carry out public service duty as part of the punishment or as an alternative to the fine. The only nations who have banned the wearing of headwear nationwide are Belgium and France France contains Western Europe’s largest Muslim population, so one could guess that this law would cause a large percent of France to disagree with and protest the law.

In Joan Wallach Scott’s book, The Politics of the Veil, she reflects on the aftermath of the passing of the burqa banning law. In her book, she states, “rather than resolving the problem of integrating Muslims into French society, the law banning headscarves has exacerbated it” Scott draws this conclusion mainly from testimonials she has heard from Muslim women who have experienced the repercussions of this law.  Muslim individuals are arguing that the ban infringes on their ability to live according to their religious faith, culture and personal convictions. A devout Muslim woman had tried to draw on several articles of the convention to make a case against the law. Those articles cover the right to respect for private and family life; the right to respect for freedom of thought, conscience and religion; and the prohibition of discrimination. The French Constitutional Council said in 2010 that the law does not impose disproportionate punishments or prevent the free exercise of religion in a place of worship, finding therefore that "the law conforms to the Constitution”.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of the UK human rights pressure group Liberty, said the ban "has nothing to do with gender equality and everything to do with rising racism in western Europe". "If I go somewhere and need to show my face for security reasons, I do so. It really has never been a problem. Surely there are more important things happening in the world, terrible things in the name of religion, some of those things in the name of Islam, but all more important than this?" Isabelle Niedlispacher, representing the Belgian authorities who introduced a similar full-face veil ban "It's about social communication, the right to interact with someone by looking them in the face and about not disappearing under a piece of clothing".

I feel that Shami Chakrabarti’s argument supports Scott’s statement the best. France thinks it is integrating Muslims into French society, but what it is really doing is punishing and calling out Muslims for dressing differently than everyone else. Instead of making Muslims feel welcome, France is making them feel unaccepted and isolated. I understand that argument and France wanting everyone in the country to be able to live together and not be segregated by veil wearers versus non-veil wearers, but I agree more with the point of view of Scott and the Muslims speaking out against this law. I do not believe that a country should be able to dictate how its citizens dress, especially when they are dressing for their religion. It would be one thing if the country implemented a modesty law in terms of dress or something along those lines, but I believe a law banning religious dress should not be permitted. France allowed these Muslim individuals into the country knowing how they dress, so I do not understand how they are going to change their minds all of a sudden, deciding they no longer want these Muslims who look like they do, in their country. They only want them if they can dress and look more like non-Muslim French citizens.

I believe, especially after the recent attacks on France, that this subject is incredibly touchy. Muslims feel more isolated and targeted now than ever before. Non- Muslim French citizens are growing more and more suspicious and skeptical of Muslims in their country. I understand it is hard for French citizens to accept Muslims right now and not profile them as radical terrorists. It is important though, especially after the passing of this law and in the wake of the recent tragedies, for non-Muslim French citizens to make more of an effort to accept Muslim French citizens.

Bibliography

Kim, W. (2014, July 1). French Muslim women on burqa ban ruling: 'All I want is to live in peace' Retrieved December 12, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/01/french-muslim-women-burqa-ban-ruling

Final Blog

This semester had a lot of very interesting and well-informed guest lecturers. I think the one I found the most informative was by Tom Stam. He did a lecture about globalization and our stance on it from the perspective of different races. I know that it really shocked me when he showed us the video of the white guy talking down to the asian girl, asking completely rude questions like "no, where are you from?". And then it really got me thinking when, later on in the video, the woman turned it around on him. It seemed completely ridiculous to me, but for those who aren't caucasian, it's an almost everyday experience. So for Stam to put it into perspective of how globalization is reflected in a non-white world was really eye-opening for me. Lectures like that really put it into a certain kind of perspective for me, as a white American, that I feel could benefit from lessons that put ethnic disparities into light for me.

As for what I learned from research on my country, I found that my education of Greece increased exponentially. For instance, I really got to dive into the problems of Greece’s economy. I knew the very basic minimum of information of its economy, being a journalism, but I learned so much more during my research. For example, I had no idea Greece was on the brink of being removed from the European Union. And I had no idea that the reason Greece was in such hot water was because they (the government) lied about the money the country had. Now I understand why there was such a high demand for bailout when the country was in need.

Overall, I felt like I learned more about the world and how to connect to those outside the US.

Class Reflection

This semester I was able to attend all of the guest lectures that took part during the lecture portion of our class. I appreciated the opportunity to learn from such experienced and passionate individuals. Personally, I would have to say that one of my favorite lectures was given by Bill Allen from CAFNR and the School of Journalism. I especially enjoyed his in depth analysis of sustainable practices and how we as students can live a sustainable lifestyle. His section on water usage inspired my roommates and I to calculate our water footprints and successfully lower them (and our water bill) considerably. In addition, I had no idea that a number of things I already do are good for the environment, like eating organic food and walking to both school and work. I had no idea, however, that planning what to buy instead of randomly buying what I’d like at the grocery store will help me not to overbuy or overcook – resulting in leftovers and waste. 

My fiance & I at Buckingham Palace in London, England

The reason that I chose England as the region to focus my studies on this semester is mainly because my family and I travelled there this past May. Although I watched several documentaries and read a few informative articles before my trip, I regret not learning more about the country before visiting. This semester I learned that citizens of the United Kingdom are not entirely gratuitous with their money when it comes to living a sustainable lifestyle but they do fund proactive environmental organizations such as the UK Power Shift and the Gloucestershire Climate Action Network. Although England does not pay much respect to climate change, they are one of the foremost players in the human rights effort. I also discovered that England suffers from a substantial digital divide comparable to America’s, most likely due to the end of World War II and the succeeding Baby Boomer generation. On the other hand, the same technology that separates them has paved the way for England to become one of the most advanced countries in regards to monitoring and preventing human trafficking after it was determined that London had become a popular place to lure abductees. Overall, I learned that England is a fortunate country with a surprisingly giving nature that is upheld well by its government actions. As I studied each of the aforementioned issues one motif became clear: Parliament has done its best to uphold the demands of the English people – even if sometimes it’s best efforts are arguably ineffective.  

Class Reflection

We’ve had a lot of great guest lecturers this semester, but I found the lecture given Kristin Kopp to be the most interesting. Professor Kopp gave the lecture of the history of African Americans in Germany. I found it to be the most interesting and the most informative because, for some reason, I had never considered how black soldiers and their families were received in Europe during a time where they were facing overt systemic racism here in the United States.

Europe and the United States both share histories of racial/ethnic injustices (that continue on to this day with the treatment of Muslims), but from what Professor Kopp presented, after World War 2 it seemed that people in Europe were a bit warmer towards African Americans than people in America were.

I also loved the short film that Professor Kopp showed us, because it did a really good job at symbolizing the shift in attitudes towards Afro-Germans and other racial/ethnic minorities in Germany. I think that the rhetoric that the old woman in the film used helped drive home that anti-blackness or racism is a global phenomenon- it is not contained to America, which is an important distinction to make at this point in time, where globally America is being ousted for its systemic biases against racial and ethnic minorities while other white supremacist countries (whose hands are far from clean historically and in the present) wag their fingers at “our” problems (as if America didn’t learn its ways from European countries).

I think the most prominent insight that I gained researching Italy this semester was that Italy is also suffering from problems that everyone is suffering from, but the problems in Italy are hardly ever addressed or used as an example of our crumbling, capitalistic, global society.

For example, this semester I learned that Italy- Central and Southern to be more specific- is suffering from mob corruption. In American media, we use their mob corruption as a running gag, but it’s a legitimate problem in Italy that we hardly ever consider. The economic struggles on Italy are akin to the struggles in a lot of Southern and Eastern European countries, and instead of treating it as we’ve treated the crisis in Greece, for example, we’ve pretty much ignored it. America isn’t the only country ignoring the problems in Italy; the European Union has also turned a blind eye to most of the problems there.

I also learned a lot about the refugee crisis through studying Italy this semester. The amount of refugees that have come through Italy seeking asylum in Europe has made the problem so big in Italy that there are multiple articles every day dedicated to it. So, while my region didn’t specifically dictate that I must address the crisis, the impact that the crisis has had on Italy has meant that I’ve had to keep a closer eye on it than maybe someone who studied The Americas or even someone who studied Northern European Countries until the incident that caused the crisis to reach a global scale.

Overall, this semester- between the guest lecturers and the extensive research about the impacts of globalization- was very informative and inspiring.

Final Blog Entry

The guest lecture that I found most informative and inspiring was the lecture by Kristin Kopp from the Department of German. The first impression of her presentation was what stuck with me most and caused me to choose this lecture opposed to another lecture. The first impression was the video about the German woman riding the train saying racially intolerant things to the black man sitting next to her on the train. I have always strongly disliked individuals who are racially intolerant like that woman was. I believe people like her are extremely ignorant and close minded. People like that woman believe one thing for their whole lives, not letting anyone or any facts change their minds.  I understand that the woman was born in a time when some of those beliefs about people of color were common. As Ms. Kopp stated though, the woman does not even have her facts correct. Most of the things the woman was saying in the video were completely inaccurate. It is one thing to be set in your beliefs, but it is another to be set in beliefs that are not even factually correct. In the incident with the woman on the train, she just made herself look foolish because of the inaccuracy of her facts.

I loved the scene in the video when karma finally caught up to the woman and she was kicked off the train. I believe that kind of thing is what people like her deserve for being so ignorant. I understand that she actually did have a paper ticket and she technically should not have been kicked off the train because she paid for her ticket. At the time the ticketer came around though, she had lost hers (in the black man’s mouth!) so she was rightfully kicked off the train for not possessing a ticket; which I think is only fair. The black man deserved to be able to mess with her a little after how mean she was to him.

In the end, one of the big points of the video that we were discussing was stereotypes and how you cannot always assume something about someone just based off the color of their skin, etc. The black man, who was thought of by the woman as a poor, lower class individual, ended up having a laminated year long train riding card while she only had a cheap, day long ticket. This was just proof that the woman was all talk and was maybe even talking bad about the black man to make herself feel better. I really enjoyed this lecture because I agree with every point Ms. Kopp made in terms of stereotypes, racial intolerance/ignorance, etc. It was also nice to learn a little more about Germany, which is actually a large part of my family’s cultural background.

When doing research on my country throughout this past semester, I learned so much. My country was France, and let me just say what a time it was having France during this period in the country’s history. I lived in France for three weeks when I was in high school and although that is not an obscene amount of time, it is enough time to be able to get a feel for the cultural climate of the country. After researching France this semester, I have realized just how much the country has changed in the matter of 5 years. It has gone from a somewhat peaceful, stable country to a country of slight turmoil. I believe this is due mainly to the immigrant crisis, among other things. France is definitely not suffering the most out of all the countries in Europe but it is still being negatively affected by the immigration crisis. 

France now has many more ‘slum’ areas than it used to, making it less appealing to tourists. This is a big deal to a country like France, as tourism has historically been a help to France’s economy. France’s citizens/government also have to chuck out money to help the refugees by building housing for them, etc. This is putting the country in a less stable financial state, which is one of the worst things for a country to have to deal with. I believe, especially after the recent attacks, that France will come out on top of all of this due to their increased alertness and slight change in policies that could possibly be taking place. Although tragic and completely uncalled for, the attacks gave France the little push it needed to start handling the crisis a little differently. This will hopefully, if done correctly, help France in the long run and improve conditions in the country in the years to come.  

Politics of the Veil

@insideislam.wisc.edu

In 2004, the French government passed a law that banned the wearing of “conspicuous signs” of religion affiliation in public schools. While the banning also included Jewish and Sikh religious-affiliated clothing, the law was known to be a direct response against Muslim girls and their headscarves- or veils, as they’ve become more regarded as. In Politics of the Veil, author Joan Wallach Scott outlines how the laws against Muslim women and their affiliated clothing are more malicious than they are benevolent, and how the concepts of racism, secularism, individualism, and sexuality have all played a part in only worsening the problem that Muslims have with integrating in French society.

Wallach uses the testimonies of Muslim women to help illustrate her argument that there are more repercussions to the law than just having to take off the veil. By banning headscarves from being worn in public, France continuously alienates their Muslim population. As Wallach said in the book, even though the overt protests against the law have ceased- in the media, at least- Muslim women are repeatedly reminded that the law and society as a whole only works against them. Stories of how Muslim women are denied naturalization, marriages, job opportunities, government assistance, the right to testify in trials, and even just simply the ability to receive certain services are all to common for Muslim women in France.

@opinionmag.com

So, even though the law was only meant to target school aged Muslim girls, the social ramifications have made it more unlikely that Muslim women will ever integrate- or assimilate, which is probably a better term for what the French want- fully into French society. Despite being pitched as a step towards liberating Muslim women from the patriarchal religion of Islam, the law was also a step backwards, because it only served to further the racial oppression and discrimination that Muslims- especially Muslim women- face in white supremacist, Western societies. When they remove their veils to go into public, only to put them back on when they return to the privacy of their own homes, it gives them their daily reminder that they are outsiders in their own country, and it only continues to foster a sense of resentment against and alienation from French society.

In 2010, France pushed the issue further and banned Muslim women from wearing their full-faced veils (niqabs) in public spaces, giving a 150 Euro fine (about $205) for women who do so anyways- making France the first European country to do so. In 2014, the law was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that the ban wasn’t a direct target on the religious affiliation of the clothing, but just on the fact that it concealed the face.

 Since then, other European countries- like Belgium- have followed suit.

@inminds.co.uk

I would say that it’s a noble cause, but like Wallach, I agree that there is an underlying seediness to the law and to laws like it. I’d believe that it was for the protection of the countries- if it wasn’t for the fact that Islamophobic hate crimes are rising faster in Western society (here, there, and everywhere) than crimes against people who are against Islam. 

I’d believe that it was for the liberation of Muslim women from the oppressive patriarchy that is Islam (even though we hardly consider nuns oppressed for wearing a similar outfit in the name of patriarchal Christianity)- if it wasn’t for the fact that banning Muslim women from wearing what they choose (because many Muslim women choose to wear their veils for themselves, not because of any sexist obligation- despite what Western [read “white”] feminists like to believe ) is the opposite of “liberation” and only forces them to choose which oppressor they want to please more. I’d stand by the law if Western society didn’t preach religious freedom or individualism or open-mindedness.

I’d be all for it- if only it wasn’t so hypocritical and completely against the values that Western society is claiming to be fighting for.

@rediff.com

Like Wallach, I believe that these laws only continue to spread hate and further separate the Muslim community from the West. I don’t think that the way to integrating a society is to remove all of the cultural differences between minority groups and the dominant majority. I think that integration only happens when a society can accept that everyone is different and respect those differences.