France: Will Niqab Be Banned?

One of the burning issues in France is the proposed law that supposed to ban women from wearing niqab (Face veils) in public places. The law bans all kind of religious identity from disclosing in public places , regardless of religious background, especially face veil, some muslim and some other religious women are wearing.

The proposed law claims that such kind of 'religious symbols' are contradicting with the country's century old secular tradition. It is expected to be discussed in parliment soon after the regional government elections in march.

Last year France banned all religious symbols that might catch the attention, from using them in schools and public institutions. Women who veil the face will be able to be fined upto 750£ in case the proposed law is approved by the parliament. Only veils that can be seen in France is the one that uncover the eyes, the mostly observable veils in middle eastern counties. . Almost it is impossible to see the Afgan style veils in France that covers whole face. According to recent statistics, only 1900 women wear niqab, which is an insignificant number to introduce a law.

Economist magazine had written recently that France is showing less tolerance with religions due to its bitter experience of struggle with religious leadership in France. When Swiss banned building the 'Minaraths', Nicholos Sarcozy, French President welcomed the move and requested all religious sects to keep their religious identity privately. He had also mentioned sometimes ago that 'hijab' is the symbol of slavery on women. In his words, 

"niqab is not welcome in French because, it is contrary to our values and contrary to the ideals we have of a woman's dignity."

Commenting on Sarcozy's statement, Hesham Hasabullah, a writer in Chicaco Tribune said: 

"that is very interesting because, there are many billboards in France and elsewhere around the world with scantily-clad women used as props for product advertisements. How is this not also "contrary to the ideals...of a woman's dignity"?

The voices are raising claiming that the niqab or face veil is not religious identity but it is a social aspect. Some human rights activists claim that such imposing regulation will mean denying the rights of women, who want to wear it. It is meaningless to keep wearing niqab in private, since Muslim women do not wear niqab in homes, they wear it only when they go outside.

In my opinion, Face veil is not part of Islamic religious duty, thus I do not think it is necessary. Vast majority of the Islamic religious scholars have similar kind of opinion, while some others claim it is a must do duty. 


However, such contradictions can not justify in any circumstances to deny the right of women whom want to veil their face. I have seen many women who wear it willingly, without the pressure from others. Thus face veil will nothing to do with the dignity of women, and their rights should be safeguarded, should they are willing do so.

“The niqab is a cultural practice of several parts of the Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia. Personally, I am against Muslim women here in America or in other parts of the West wearing the niqab, on the basis of the fact that the face veil is not part of our culture. In fact, there must be a way to strike a balance between fidelity to the Qur'an principle of modesty and fidelity to the cultural norms of our people. Many Muslim women have struck this balance here in America quite well, wearing hijab with a distinctively American twist.

Yet, should we ban the face veil altogether? Who am I to say to a Muslim sister, "You cannot wear the niqab," even if I personally do not like or agree with it? If a woman wants to be covered completely except for her eyes, by what authority do I - or my society and government - deny that woman her personal choice?”

Hesham has also mentioned  (http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com).


There are religious Muslims in France who welcome the move of the government. According to them niqab is not part of the religion and wearing it will alienate Muslims from the main stream French society.


However, finally it is the individual choice of women weather to wear it or not to wear it, thus law banning the dress code or welcoming such move will be completely contradicting with the rights of women . This is against to the secular principles on which France has been established such as democracy, equality, and justice. 


There are dangers that other European countries also might attempt to follow the Franch style. It will not appropriate to impose the pre-established value sets to impose on a group of people who are having a different sets of values, that is doubtlessly contradicting with all the established and accepted democratic principles.


This is the time, the dialogue between civilizations is given much more importance;  Europe needs immigration from Asia and Africa, especially from Muslim countries to full fill the shortage of workforce due to its ageing population. Therefore, France needs a rapid policy change, so that it can respect the ethnic and cultural diversity, and can manage its increasingly becoming multicultural society on equal grounds despite the fact that they are religious or secular.


Should it fail to do so and can show only less tolerance towards the other cultures, it is better to restrict immigration like China and Japan. But, France has less possibilities to make such choices due to its demographical facts.