Muslims Women’s Rights to Practice Their Religion Essays

Despite all the values that the hijab is representing in different countries of the world, the only value that is demanded is the egalitarianism and justice value, whether a woman is wearing the veil or not, they are “calling for equal access to divorce, child custody, and inheritance; equal opportunities for education and employment; and abolition of

There has been debates about whether the Islamic face veil should be banned in countries. The arguments that governments of countries that have banned the Muslim face veil (France, Syria, Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium) argue that the full-face veil is oppressive, degrading towards women, and goes against values of each country. However, many Muslim women believe otherwise and strongly disagree with the banning of the veil. I strongly believe that the Islamic face veil should not be banned because it is a complete violation of religious and expressive freedom and forces them to conform to an alternative culture.

Since the incident of 9/11 occurred, many people have debated over the Muslim faith and its practices. Muslim extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS have affected the name of Islam causing majority of Muslims to be blamed. Recently, a tragic event that occurred in Paris killing over a hundred people left the people of France shaken with fear and anger. These events have lead to an increasing amount of hate and tension towards Muslims all over the world from protests at mosques, where Muslims go to pray, and anti-Muslim rally’s. Islamophobia is a massive issue that has steered European counties like France to enforce laws that ban religious garments that Muslims wear such as the niqab and burqa. Some people perceive these garments to be

The anticipated law, whose purpose is to ban the use of the burqa and veil, finally took place in France. The ban started within school, and expanded into a restriction within the entire country. France drew international attention, questions, and opinions on the justification of this new law. Even though France’s main response to their justification of the ban is to preserve the French culture, the law also positively addresses other problems such as: religious freedom, public safety, and women’s rights.

“Life is full of unhappiness and most of it caused by women (Harik and Marston 11)”. For women in the Middle East life is faced with great and unequal odds, as their human rights are limited, due to Islamic beliefs and that of patriarchy. From their daily actions at home to their physical appearance, Middle Eastern women are portrayed as quiet, faceless women veiled from head to toe. While this image is just another stereotype, women in the middle do face many obstacles and challenges of creating their own identity as they are frequently denied a voice in their rights. Living in a society dominated by men life is not, but regardless women in the Middle East, predominantly Muslims, continue to fight for

Muslim women living in North America and Europe often face scrutiny over their choice to wear the veil, even though many Western people do not fully understand the practice.

In recent years, America’s attention has been gripped by stories of women who have escaped from the Middle East. Each has a unique story, but they all have the same themes of oppression, abuse, and domination. Americans rushed onto the scene ready to “save” Middle Eastern women and many of the activists are now been highly praised for the influence they made in the region. Others, however, have come to question whether the Muslim women in the Middle East really needed the U.S. to rescue them from Islam. *Insert Thesis*

“The Hijab limits me from doing certain things. When I have the Hijab on…as a Muslim woman, I consider myself basically representing the whole community” (Ruby 29). Aspects like this set this woman apart from her peers because she is now labeled as just one thing, a Muslim, when in fact she is much more than that. Women who wear the Hijab, Muhajibah, living in the western world, I believe, have it harder than they do living back home. Here, they are subject to a lot more attention when not necessary such as weird looks walking down the street and subject to stereotypes ie. being a terrorist. Islamic women are not the only ones being oppressed by their choice of clothing; in fact every woman around the world is target towards oppression. Islamic women are just targeted more than women of other religions. This is because of the strict faith that they endure from the Qu’ran telling them that they need to dress a certain way. However, it has been debated that the Qu’ran actually doesn’t mention anything about a women needing to wear a Hijab to be a good Muslim. (Kawaji)

The article Behind the Ban by Ash Garton Timothy argues in his opinion women in France should be able to make their own choice of wearing burkas even though it is unnecessary. Ash states three arguments in his article which are that burkas are a threat to public safety, criminals can be wearing burkas to cause harm, and burkas attract voter back from the xenophobic far right. Many people may think that these women fathers and husbands make them wear these to not show anything, but in reality the women feel more comfortable with them. Ash explains that a study done by the Open Society Foundation, “Report in-depth interviews with 32 women who wear the full- face veil in France. All but two say they are the first members of their family to do so, and almost all insist this was a matter of free personal choice” (Ash). Almost all the women in France say that they wear the burkas for their spiritual journey; it is their way of protesting for their sexuality. Ash states from Vivi, 39, South of France, “‘For us it’s a way of saying that we are not a piece of meat in a stall, we are not commodity’” (Ash). Getting treated like a product is something really hurtful. No matter what race you are everyone should have respect for each other. Concluding he say “Let us defend free speech against violent Islamist intimidation” (Ash). If someone is not white it does not mean that they are criminals or are capable of cause

The banning of the burqa has become an issue in many places, including France. The French Parliament has decided it is time to ban the burqa in public. They believe is a sign of the subjugation and submission of women to males. Some believe it is used to cover up abuse and they also believe it is unfair to the public that citizens cannot see the women’s faces. However it is unfair for these women to be banned from wearing what they choose as just everyone else does.The banning of the burqa should not be allowed because it is discriminatory towards Muslim women and violates their freedom of religion and their freedom to express themselves.

When I was introduced to the topic of France’s ban on the veil, I disagreed with the law. I took a position based on my customs as an American citizen, which differs completely from those of France. International critics began to argue that France is violating what people call “Freedom of Religion,” which I agreed with at first. As a foreigner from America, I am accustomed to the American government’s definition of freedom of religion. Protected by the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise.” (Religious Freedom). You can express your religion in public, during church, mass, or religious meetings. So the presence of religious items such as the burqa's and veil do not disturb the people or government.

In today’s society women are given ample opportunity just as much as men. In some countries, such as middle-eastern nations that is not the case. Muslim women are often perceived to be submissive to Muslim men and unequal. Mohammed never taught for women to be treated as lower class citizens. Nonetheless, the blame is pointed towards the religion of Islam. The Islamic religion began as all monotheist religions representing a belief in one God and moral standards. In the following essay I will discuss and elaborate what Mohammed taught, how women lived in early Islamic society, and what it has become.

Here in the United States, some individuals think that by wearing a hijab you are you enforcing the belief that Muslim women are being forced to wear one despite the reason that some of these women wear it’s a sign of freedom. Therefore, it appears that to some women, the veil is unjust; while other women feel it is not unjust but a decision they made on their own in dedication to their religion. Still, for many women especially the ones in Western countries, they have no choice and for that reason alone, they are being made to wear a

In every country around the world, women's lives are shaped by the influences of both society and by religion. “The Quran, Islam’s holy book, mandates that women have the right to seek education, choose their own mates, work, possess and inherit wealth or property, divorce, and remarry” (Hurley 76). So despite the Quran’s clear support for women’s rights and equality, why do many people feel that Muslim women are oppressed? The hijab head covering worn by Muslim women has been in the news on and off for some time now and has been a topic of many debates. Here in America, one would feel this requirement on women as oppressive, but most Muslim women feel that this is a way to be looked at not for their beauty, but for their minds. The issues here is that people have a hard time differentiating between culture and religion, two things that are completely different but have a huge effect on each other. People also have a hard time understanding things that are different. Just because it is different than how we live, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong.

Currently, the French want to ban the wearing of religious symbols in public schools so that there is no social tension, and to keep the main religion in France (Roman Catholicism) ‘pure’ (Gofen 63). But even though the French say they want to keep their culture pure, in reality since the world wars, religions such as Islam and Judaism have in fact become a part of their culture. Once again, the French let in other cultures knowingly, and once the cultural diversity begins, all the religions are apart of a country’s culture. An example of a religious symbol that the French are considering to ban is the Burka. A Burka is an outfit worn by Muslim females that cover them head to toe. Some, who want to ban the burka say that it is disrespectful to women and can be degrading. But, 64 million people in France are Muslim. By wearing a Burka they are just following their religion and are also following tradition (French). One other big controversy regarding religious symbols is the banning of