On Tuesday, the Senate of France passed legislature banning the full burqa veil to be worn in public by a tremendous majority of 246 to 1 in favor of the bill. All it needs is French president Sarkozy’s signature.
“Liberté, égalité, fraternité.” Those were the words on the Declaration of the Rights of Man coming from the French Revolution. It was a combination of multiple Enlightenment philosophies that all men were equal and free under the law. But only in a democratic society wherein its citizen’s rights are protected do conflicts like these arise. And wake up Canada, this issue is getting pushed right in our yard as we speak.
It is hard to remember that there is such a debate because there is no definite solution and nobody is ever truly right. But more often than not, we get caught up in our own manufactured paranoia and hysteria and become excessively emotional while disregarding both sides of the coin. As a democratic country, France has to ensure that men and women are both fair under the law. Their motive is that the burqa, as well as other Islamic practices, may be prejudice against women and therefore conflicts with one of the fundamental values of the French society, whereas Muslims feel that is it in their culture and their right to decide whether or not they should wear burqas.
Whenever this issue is brought up around me that the Muslim women choose to wear the burqa, there is always someone who replies with fervor that they must wear it in fear of violence. And whenever this rationale comes up, I can’t help myself to think that perhaps there is bigotry in those statements. I don’t believe that all Muslim women don’t have a choice but to wear the burqa. Yet as an outsider looking into an unfamiliar world, perhaps it is easy to jump to conclusions, be they right or wrong.
But this issue goes beyond Islam and the Muslim community. It potentially affects all kinds of people and their cultures and related back to the endless debate that in a democratic society, how far should government go in protecting the cultures of its varied people? And if some of those values contradict some of the nation’s own established values, should a government still protect them?
Some French Muslim women say they will continue to wear the burqa in public in defiance to the legislature passed. Experts and Muslim leaders say this will only heighten the post-9/11 paranoia about Islam and stigmatize the Muslim community inside of France. Others say France is protecting its people’s rights, despite it may be a bit politically incorrect. It all comes down to which side of the coin you see it as. But the issue may become hot debate around the world if France somehow comes out of the ordeal. For now it is better to watch the events unfold in France and enjoy my bubble tea in public while I still can.
For more information on the issue, please visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39175408/ns/world_news-europe
