Photo by Siobhán Silke/Flickr (Creative Commons)
Kenza Drider, one of the most vocal opponents of France's burqa ban, April 2011
On Monday, France implemented a controversial ban on the face-covering veils worn by some Muslim women, which are referred to there as burqa or niqab. Women who continue to wear the veils are subject to steep fines if cited. The French government defends the ban as promoting sexual equality, while critics have called it a blatant appeal to anti-Muslim voters. Meanwhile, there has been mixed reaction from Muslim women as the ban is debated around the world.
KPCC intern Yasmin Nouh, a recent graduate of UC Irvine who herself is Muslim and wears hijab, the traditional head scarf, interviewed three prominent Muslim women in California on reaction to the ban. She spoke with Hadeer Soliman, vice president of the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine; Edina Lekovic, director of policy and programming for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles; and Zahra Billoo, executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Here’s what they had to say about the burqa ban, how it affects Muslim women here, and broader concerns they see surrounding it.
Q: What has the reaction been amongst Muslim women that you interact with regarding the new law?
Hadeer: The reaction amongst Muslim women varies, but I think a common sentiment is that this law denies women in France the right to choose what to wear. The new law will not create a “moderate” Islam, as some French officials claim it will; rather, it alienates and and infringes on the rights of a significant portion of the French population.
Edina: The vast majority of Muslim women I know are wholly against burqas or niqabs because they have no religious foundation in the Quran. They’re based on a hyper-strict interpretation of the Quran, not on what it says in the text at all. That said, they uniformly oppose the French government’s decision to ban them because it sends a completely counterproductive message to French Muslims and French society.
Banning burqas – just like banning books – will only make them more popular as a symbol of resistance. If the goal is to encourage integration of Muslim immigrants into French society, creating opportunities for participation and empowerment is the answer, not excluding and fining people based on how they dress.
Zahra: Many of the Muslim women I have spoken to about the new law are concerned. The general sentiment is that women should have the right to choose what to wear, be it as little or as much as they please. This law, under the guise of protecting and liberating them, actually harms women.
