Britain & the burqa
As an English Muslim convert to Islam I have always enjoyed living in Britain seeing no contradiction between my religion and my country. I converted to Islam 6 months before 9/11 so the majority of my 9 years as a Muslim has seen me having to defend my reasons for converting.
Islamophobia has now become an accepted form of expression and is furthered by the media looking to sell more papers by promoting a fear of a ‘fifth column’, of an alien section of the community living amidst peaceful Britons. These ‘others’ are not looking to live happily in Britain but to change the whole fabric of British society by imposing their medieval views on this forward and modern society. The public is encouraged not to view this community as individual humans but as one body, with one view and one desired aim – the conversion of Britain to a Muslim state.
The latest manifestation of this media perceived desire to change Britain is the face veil, the niqab, or the head to toe covering, the burqa. Conservative MP, Philip Hollobone has come out wanting Britain to follow France’s example and ban both the niqab and the burqa. Channel 5 followed this up with a poll that indicated that two thirds of the public supported a face veil ban. After starting this band wagon, the media cannot seem to decide whether the face veil should be banned because it threatens security, compromises ‘British values’ or encourages the suppression of women. They are all agreed on one thing, that women should be forced to remove the face veil.
As a Muslim woman, I fail to recognise the traits levelled at me by parts of the media. I was not forced to convert, I have not had to give up my ‘British’ values, nor am I, disappointingly for the media, suppressed by my Muslim husband. Granted I don’t wear the face veil but I do know women who do and not one of them has been forced by a male member of their family to do so.
This doesn’t mean that I am naïve and I do recognise that there are Muslim women who are forced to cover and are living under male domination. However, the idea that banning the face veil will suddenly mean these women are free to do what they want is ludicrous. It’s not even a good first step. These women are often living on the margins of British society, often not even speaking English; all this ban will do is marginalise them further. They’ll not be allowed to leave the house without the face veil so they will be restricted even more. This ban won’t make their male relatives suddenly look at their suppression and think twice, it will make them feel defensive and it is these vulnerable women who will be forced to pay. Instead of a pointless ban on face veils in order to ‘liberate’ suppressed Muslim women, why don’t those calling to implement such a ban look instead to promote grass roots organisations that work in Muslim communities to help these isolated women and educate their families?
Oh right, that wouldn’t sell newspapers.
Ummissa's Blog 
At least Damian Green seems to have a bit of a clue:
Hopefully the fact that he’s in the Cabinet, and Philip Hollobrain is stranded on the back benches, will see this view predominate (at least in non-Fail-reading circles).
I couldn’t agree more, especially with the last paragraph. Banning the veil will do nothing but further marginalize Muslim immigrants to Europe, and I’ve got quite a large suspicion that this is what politicians and a good chunk of the population at large want to accomplish.
I lived in Paris when the French voted to ban the niqab from public schools. Of course, the law was written so that any large, outward display of religiousness was banned, but let’s be honest: this wasn’t an issue before the Arab and Muslim population in France became large enough to comprise a significant portion of the population.
As an outsider to both camps, I found the law incredibly ironic. The idea was to liberate Muslim women, to un-objectify them, to release them from the shackels of their repressive male family members and their repressive, Muslimy Muslim (egads!) culture and make them enjoy the wonders of being a French woman. And yet I saw no push, no clamor, no law passed to un-objectify French-born girls. While no law will compel a European woman to dress so, or weigh such, or look pretty, it cannot be denied that there is significant societal pressure on young girls to look their most attractive.
I remember walking past store displays and looking at what the fashion world was selling as desireable: mini skirts, barely-there tops, ultra high heels. Objectification. A strong compulsion toward immodesty, while people were howling about Muslim girls being compelled toward modesty. Everywhere in the Metro: ads for les grands magasins, with rail-thin women dressed in as little as possible, selling everything from perfume to cake. Everywhere I went, comments from strangers about how pretty I would be if only I would lose weight, straighten my hair, etc. I came to the conclusion that French women were just as much the slaves to their own culture as they accused their Arab counterparts of being.
Anyway, this is just my thoughts on it.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by gwenhwyfaer, Natalya. Natalya said: Ok people, be kind! My first blog post on banning the burqa http://wp.me/pZSkS-7 […]
Tweets that mention Britain & the burqa « Ummissa's Blog -- Topsy.com said this on July 18, 2010 at 3:36 pm |
thumbs up.
had a go at the blogger-y thing too, practically same subject funnily enough, though a different angle. was a bit too scared to share – but have a look (and “be kind” applies to you too!!)
xx