Personal Expression or repression?
Al Jazeera reports: “In the Canadian province of Quebec a furious public debate has erupted over Muslim women who wear the niqab – face veil.
Out of over 200,000 Muslims in Montreal in Quebec, only a few dozen women wear the niqab, but under a proposed new legislation they could be barred from receiving public services.”
When I think about this issue I get a headache. The complexity and intersectionality of issues regarding women’s rights, religious freedom and society is staggering. Watch the video for a little background.
Canada is a secular democracy. I hesitate to fully endorse a law that prohibits anyone from wearing what they deem to be culturally important to them. Conversely, the Niqab and the Burka are both symbols of the oppression of women by the patriarchal rules of a delusional following known as Islam.
Modesty? Can men be immodest? Why is there not a male version of the Burka?
“No no no” you see the Burka protects women from men and their uncontrollable rape-happy urges. So says the Mullah, so says the Patriarchy. ‘Bullshit’ I say. Stripping women of their identities does not make them safer, nor does it prevent rape as the commodification and objectification happens by default in any patriarchal society.
The rub comes when people bring their cultural traditions to a secular society and then expect them to be accepted without a hitch. Whoa! Cultural relativism warning! Where do we draw the line when people bring potentially repressive traditions to our society? How much respect should we accord them? *gnash teeth*
The thing is that women choose to do repressive objectifying things to themselves all the time. Is it enough to leave the argument at if women ‘choose’ (aka obeying repressive cultural dictates) to wear the Niqab, so be it despite all the negative baggage associated with it?
To be honest, I really cannot say for sure one way or the other. What do you think?
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
1 comment
April 21, 2010 at 12:05 am
Mystro
I would have to take the Sam Harris view on this. Any law that prohibits oppressive repugnant and horrible things like burkas would be counter-productive.
Rather what has to happen is society must start reacting to these symbols of misogyny with the disdain and outrage they deserve.
For example, it is not illegal to wear a swastika arm band, but the practice has been virtually wiped out in public circles. Why? Because anyone seen wearing that symbol of hate would be ostracized, openly criticized, and looked down upon by the rest of society.
If the same moral outrage could be ubiquitously summoned at the sight of a burka as with a swastika (and I would argue that it should) then those dedicated to burkadom would be driven into hiding with their misogynistic ways, and moderates would opt to forgo the traditional garb just to avoid the public ridicule and condemnation that a burka rightly deserves.
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