On June 13 2010, France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy was determined to introduce a bill to ban Muslim women from wearing burqas or niqabs, despite warnings from France’s highest constitutional body that the ban would infringe constitutional rights.
Under the guise of liberating Muslim women from the full veil, the bill passed in France’s lower house with flying colors; 335 votes were in favor of the ban, while 1 vote was against the ban. If the bill passes through the Senate in September, which Sarkozy believes will not be a problem, our Muslim sisters will face a 150 Euro fine if seen covering their face in public.
Whether you agree with women wearing full burqas is not the point. The point is that the government of France is targeting Muslim women and criminalizing them for the way they practice their faith, all in the name of gender equality. When has revoking women’s basic freedom to choose ever resulted in gender equality? Imagine the heavy decisions that lay ahead for our Muslim sisters. What will they feel on the day that the law is implemented and they are forced to decide between the law and their faith? Continue reading
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