The Burqa Goes French

The Constitution of Pakistan grants its citizens the basic human right of choice. A woman can walk on the streets of Anarkali wearing a miniskirt; the legality of the situation however, makes it no less of a cultural shock. The dress code followed in Pakistan dates back to the culture of the Muslim travelers who settled in the subcontinent thousands of years ago; their attire distinguishing them from the Hindus and the people of India. The shalwar kameez and pajamas are cemented in the prevalent culture and traditions that define Pakistan. A miniskirt is not. A woman walking on the streets of Anarkali is likely to be harassed; a sexual object of shame. One isn’t likely to see many miniskirts in Anarkali.

France, with a Muslim population of 2.5 million, has a culture which leaves no place for religious separation. In a move to cement their culture, the Senate passed a bill with a 264 to 1 majority, banning the niqab from the streets and public spheres of France. The bill echoes Spain’s January 2010 decision to ban the niqab in certain areas in Barcelona and the headscarf from the majority of schools in Spain. Put forth as a security measure, France and Spain argue that in light of the prevailing terrorism around the world, it is necessary to know who is beneath the burqa or niqab, lest it becomes a means for disguise.

The law is also said to ‘protect’ and ‘uphold’ women’s rights, since women, as soon as the bill takes effect, will not be able to dress in any way that coves their faces. “Burqas are contrary to the ideals we have of women’s dignity,” stated the French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. The niqab or the burqa, although simply an article of clothing, goes against the French culture, threatening it by its seemingly extreme nature. A niqab will generate attention; a miniskirt will not. (Ironically, it is the other way around here)

Two young girls, in a move full of French flair, walked the streets of Paris and congregated outside government agencies, dressed in hotpants and a niqab. When a woman decides to adorn a niqab, she covers her whole body along with her face, for it is her womanliness and sexuality that she is covering up. A niqab coupled with short-shorts is hardly part of the norm. As captured in the short film they were making, called ‘Niqabitch’, the duo turned heads, being stopped and photographed as they walked on the streets. 

Banning the niqab, then can hardly be seen as a move towards achieving a secular state. There are 4300 religions in the world. Turkey, in a move towards secularization, prohibited people from wearing religious symbols in public institutions in the 1930s. No turbans, no crosses, no niqabs; in effect preventing religious discrimination by removing all religions from the public sphere. France, on the other hand, seems to have a specific target in mind.