I really enjoyed reading “The Other Side of the Veil” and learning about the debate over whether girls should be allowed to wear headscarves to school in France. I had actually never heard of the debate before, probably because I was so young when it started. If I had to choose a side in the debate, I think I would argue that the girls should be allowed to wear the headscarves. However, I know that I’m looking at the situation with some personal biases. Growing up, I went to school with several Muslim people and there is a mosque in my town. I think that this could definitely be influencing my perception of the debate. Additionally, I feel that my view is likely skewed simply because I’m an American. As an American, I’ve always been taught about personal freedom, liberty, and human rights. Furthermore, with the exception of American Indians, everybody immigrated to the United States at one point. Thus, I feel like this has made me, and likely many other Americans, more accepting of immigrants and their customs. While this is not to say that all Americans are this way, I definitely feel this particularly influenced my ideas around the headscarf incident in France.
On the other hand, I can understand the desire to keep religion separate from school. However, as many people mentioned in the article, this would require a lot more than just banning headscarves. It would also mean banning Jewish and Christian students from wearing any markers of their religion, which their was no discussion of implementing. I think a lot of the debate around the headscarves came up not because it was a religious symbol, but because of the fact that it is also seen by many people as a symbol of men’s oppression of women. While I understand this sentiment given the origins of the headscarf the article discussed, I also feel that a girl making the personal choice to wear the headscarf shouldn’t be seen as oppressed.
Reading this article made me think about a cartoon I saw a little while back: http://beingsakin.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/fashion.jpg?w=584. . Seeing this cartoon really made me think about how what could be viewed as oppressing varies from culture to culture. In America, many people see Muslim women wearing burqas as indication of a male-dominated culture. However, as this cartoon astutely points out, a Muslim women could see an American women wearing hardly any clothes and perceive that to be an indication of America’s male-dominated culture. Thus, when looking at and analyzing situations like the one in France, I think it’s important to come to the table with a certain level of cultural sensitivity and to not let the norms and expectations of your culture guide you in examining another culture’s norms and expectations.
When reading this article, I noted that it was written before September 11, 2001. This made me wonder if there was even more resistance toward woman wearing headscarves in France after 9/11 than there was when the article was written. There was definitely an upsurge of anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States after the terrorist attacks, and I wonder if this held true in other Western nations, like France. I feel like this could be the case because the article talked a lot about the disconnect between what Muslim women felt it meant to be a Muslim and what non-Muslims believed in meant to be a Muslim. I can’t help but think that this disconnect probably grew in France, like it did in America, after September 11th. Overall, I found the article very interesting, especially because I had heard nothing about the so-called “headscarf affair” before.
Meg, I also thought of that cartoon when I read the article and even hunted for it around the internet just a few minutes ago. As you pointed out, each culture has a separate set of ideals which makes us all biased toward our own ideals when analyzing such topics.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis that a girl who chooses to wear the headscarf is not necessarily oppressed because it is her choice reminded me of the feminist debates about pornography and stripping. On one side of the debate, people say that porn and stripping is okay because women are not being overtly forced into it; it is their personal choice. Others say that, because women are making this choice under a patriarchal society, the idea that it is a woman's "choice" to strip/model in adult movies is null. So, are girls who choose to wear headscarves really making this decision free of male oppression? Would they make the same decision if they did not live in a society where men decide that they must wear it?
Meg, you touched upon so many great points. First, I believe the that school and religion should be separated, just like as an American I believe that church and state should be separated. So, along those lines, why does it matter if a young girl is wearing a headscarf or not? She isn't imposing her religion on other classmates by just wearing it, so what's the problem? Secondly, I thought about that cartoon as well. I remember the first time I saw it and it's like wow, how different our perceptions of oppression on women from both ends of the spectrum. I think in terms of the headscarfs, the women are lost, and along with them their voice and ideas. So it's important to take a step back and remember they are people too and they were raised in and live in a different type of society. Lastly, the fact that this article was written before 9/11 is also very interesting. I think it is very probable that this debate within the French government to not allow headscarfs in public spaces or in schools could have something to do with the attacks from 9/11. It may very well be a way to oppress Muslim people even though it was not the French that were attacks. Even so, the wearing of the head scarfs is really none of the French government's business. What's going to be regulated next; the wearing of a cross?
ReplyDeleteMeg, I also agree with you when you say that you think that your opinion on this debate is slightly skewed due the fact that we are Americans, which cannot be helped. Additionally, I think the "pro-head scarf" perspective I have on this is enhanced by my surrounding environment. Conn is a very liberal school, where there is tolerance for an array of things. Along with Meg, I was completely unaware of what is referred to as the "head scarf affair", so this article was extremely eye-opening and interesting. As I made a similar observation, Meg points out that from the perspective of a different culture, seeing women in slim to nothing can portray our male-dominated society of America. However, I think this is ignored by many because "freedom" is associated with "pureness" which in turn is associated to a naked body. While, once again this might be a stretch, it could be true.
ReplyDeleteMeg, I found your perspective very interesting. First it is important to note that France has in fact banned women from wearing burqas in any public area. So your question of whether anti-Islam sentiment has grown can be answered right there. Additionally I think it was really interesting that you identified the veil being viewed as a symbol of women's oppression. I think another important way the veil was being viewed in France as described in the article is as a symbol of something Anti-French, something immigrant and other. I think this is the piece of the puzzle that explains why the cross is not being banned. The cross is not viewed as a symbol of the immigrant who won't assimilate but rather as something French. So to answer Melissa's question of if the wearing of a cross is going to be regulated next, no it will not because wearing a cross is not viewed as an act of resistance to the French culture.
ReplyDeleteExcellent response, Brooke. Also, Melissa I think others could argue that, because church and school should be separated, women should be banned from wearing headscarves to class because doing so brings their religion to school. The church and state or church and school debate is really tough to field because the same principle can be used to justify opposing points.
ReplyDelete-Ellie Merrell
John Gallagher
ReplyDeleteMeg I agree with you when you talk about the separation of religion in schools. I think that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world (in places as such), but it would be too difficult to do. There are too many symbols of religion in this world making it hard to complete a full separation. I think that you are also right when you bring up how we are American therefore it is more difficult for us to get a good grasp on the concept.