Pakistan Dawn
The great burqa debate By Irfan Husain Wednesday, 01 Jul, 2009 | 12:56 AM PST
For the first time in my life, I put on a burqa this morning. Not because I have suddenly become a cross-dresser, but just to undergo the experience millions of Muslim women go through every day of their adult lives. Although I only had it on for a couple of minutes, the world grew dark, even though I was wearing the garment with two veils, rather than the extreme one that leaves only a narrow slit to see through.
The lower veil, consisting of fine black nylon netting, did let in some light, but the heavier outer one allowed me to see only vague outlines of objects. Apart from drastically curtailing visibility, the full burqa restricted my movement, and even on a relatively cool summer morning in England, I felt very hot. The thought of having to wear one of these garments for much of my waking life fills me with horror, even though my wife thought it was a big improvement.
Certainly, given my very brief experience, I would not wish anybody to wear it. But what if somebody wanted to, whatever her reasons? As a liberal, I have always believed in the right of others to act as they wish, provided they are not usurping the rights of anybody else. But what if by claiming this right, a woman is challenging the values of the society she has chosen to live in? This is the question the French are currently grappling with.
By insisting that women wearing the full burqa or the niqab are not welcome on French soil, the French president has opened a bitter debate that has split the feminist movement as well as French civil society at large. The issue broke into the open when Andre Gerin, the (Communist) MP from Rhone, moved a motion in the Assembly calling for the establishment of 'an enquiry commission to study the practice of wearing the burqa and the niqab on national territory'. The motion was supported by 58 MPs, and a commission of 16 members from across the political spectrum has now been set up to look into the matter. It is entirely possible that after this commission has submitted its report, the government may move the Assembly to vote on an outright ban.
According to estimates, only a handful of French Muslims actually wear the full burqa that leaves a narrow slit to see through, covering every inch of the body. Presumably, this is the sort of attire the Taliban forced women into when they were in power in Afghanistan. Even though some Muslim women might choose to wear this garment of their own free will, the general perception is that they are forced to by their husbands, fathers or brothers.
Liberals as well as conservatives in France have welcomed this move. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, has made it clear where he stands on the debate by calling the burqa 'a sign of subjugation … of debasement.' Other MPs have called burqas 'veritable walking prisons.'
For nearly a century, France has adhered to a very strict secular code. Five years ago, a ban on wearing religious symbols like the hijab in state schools was imposed amidst much controversy. Although France has the biggest Muslim population in Europe, Muslims remain largely marginalised, confined to banlieues or suburban concrete jungles. Unemployment rate among young Muslims is high, and they complain of regular police harassment. Often, this resentment erupts into violent riots. But before readers conclude that the French are bigots, let me remind them that hundreds of mosques have been built in France over the years, and there are many private Muslim schools in the country. Which Muslim country extends this degree of religious tolerance to its non-Muslim residents?
The extent of the divergent opinions over the burqa issue can be judged by the reaction of Fadela Amara, a (Muslim) member of Sarkozy's cabinet. A founder of a women's rights group, Ms Amara has called the burqa 'a coffin that kills individual liberties', and a sign of the 'political exploitation of Islam.'
Others have argued that a ban would fuel the Islamophobia already rife in French society. But by and large, even the most liberal European views burqas with unease, if not horror. The debate has crossed the Channel, with many British newspapers joining in. Marian Whittaker writes to the editor of the Guardian:
'The key point is this: the face is far too important to be covered. It is crucial both to being recognised as an individual and to communication between people. Facial expression and body posture (also masked by the burqa) contribute a huge proportion of the information we transmit to each other, irrespective of the voice… In this instance, I believe Sarkozy is dead right. The burqa deprives its wearer of identity and cuts her off from effective communication with the rest of society. It is not a sartorial choice, but an instrument of oppression in the guise of a religious observance…'
In the same issue of the Guardian, Claire Dolman writes: '…there are many French women, like me, who find it very difficult to accept in our country 'women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity.'
Quite apart from the principle of free will involved here, how does wearing the burqa impact on Muslim women wearing it in the West? There have been anecdotal reports of muttered insults from passers-by. Some veiled women have been asked for job interviews, but when the prospective employer has seen the hijab or the burqa, applicants have been rejected.
In one extreme case, a woman of Moroccan descent was denied French nationality, even though her children were automatically accorded the right as they had been born in France. According to Le Monde, the judge ruled that the woman had adopted 'in the name of a radical interpretation of her faith a social behaviour incompatible with the fundamental values of the French community, notably the principle of gender equality…'
In such a tricky area where personal rights overlap and infringe on the values of the host population, it is difficult to see what is best for the individual burqa-clad Muslim woman.
If pressed to voice an opinion, I would suggest if there is no coercion, a woman should be free to choose what she wants to wear. But if her choice has been formed by peer group or family pressure, she would be better off in less conspicuous garments.