The Importance Of Ban Headscarves In Public Schools

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.

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.

The bombing of the Twin Towers turned America’s focused toward the Middle East. The War on Terrorism began in earnest. This war has brought about more than one conflict. As a nation, the United States is unique. The government is not run by any particular regime or religion, there is freedom. Yet, this is our unique brand of freedom. The Middle East is full of peoples with their own way of life that do not necessarily agree with the way we see freedom. Lila Abu-Lughod discusses one of the many difference between the United States and the Middle East, the use of head coverings and the burqa, in her article “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” She examines the cultural significance and different types of veiling.

Some Muslim women believe that although the principles of modesty are clearly outlined in the Qu’ran, they perceive the wearing of the headscarf as a cultural interpretation of these scriptures. These women sometimes believe that the values espoused by the wearing of the headscarf can be achieved in other ways. Some women believe that while the hijab allowed women in the past to engage in public society without garnering attention, the headscarf in contemporary Western society brings more attention to women and is thus contradictory to its original purpose. Others believe that the hijab and other external practices have become inappropriately central to the practice of Islam, and instead choose to focus on their internal and spiritual relationship with God.While some women might choose not to wear the hijab, most Muslim women agree that it is a woman’s choice whether or not she wears the hijab. Many Muslim and Arab women who have chosen not to wear the hijab are often staunch advocates of a woman’s right to choose to

The mixing of cultures in a global world can cause some serious problems, with Muslim immigration into Europe being one such (Glazer, 2010). The low-skilled poor migrants face hostility in many European nations, as anti-immigration policies and laws are being implemented, with xenophobia running rampant (Glazer, 2010). Some experts argue that the influx of immigrants is necessary to combat the inevitable social security and aging workers crisis, yet others argue technology will solve the problem (Glazer, 2010). With tensions high, questions come to the limelight over the banning of burqa’s in European countries, and the effects these policies will have on future immigration to Europe (Glazer, 2010).

Religion is a part of life for millions of people around the world and can often define a person and their way of living. While some countries solely recognise a religion through cohesion of religion and state, other countries are secular, having a definite separation between church and state affairs. It is often the lack of separation between these two ideologies, which causes conflict amongst people, groups and sometimes countries, clearly showing defects in the relationships of various factions of society. April 2011 saw a controversial law come into effect, known as the ‘Burqa Ban’, which prohibits the wearing of the full-face burqa in public places. In the present day and specific to Islam in France, religion and the state are in conflict with one another on the issue of wearing religious symbols in public. In a secular country where a minority religion struggles to define itself, it seems

French media coverage of the headscarf controversy perpetuates considerable misunderstanding of Islam and thus the politics of secularism extend to media framing of the tension between religious minorities and the non-religious in a society where secular is hegemonic. In 1989, in a small town outside of Paris, three girls were expelled for wearing Hijabs. The girls were in no way disruptive, or incapable academically, however, the event became significant to the reframing of the headscarf as a ;veil; or misrepresentation as a chador through and by the media. Furthermore, public intellectuals in the media promoted concerns regarding “Iran-type” mobilisation in France. A similar incident occurred in 1994, 69 girls were expelled for wearing what

However, through briefly analyzing both cases, it becomes clear that this justification is propelled by anti-Islamic sentiments rather than the will to protect democracy from rampant oppressive patriarchy or an imminent threat of public safety. This is obvious because Islamic headscarves are being targeted rather than other examples of religious headscarves which can be found in Christianity or Judaism. Thus, through not applying this ruling to all religious headscarves it becomes clear that there is no real interest in protect Muslim women, but a vested interest in restricting expressions of the Islamic faith due to xenophobic rhetoric. In addition to this, Marshall correctly points out that there is no direct correlation between the wearing of a headscarf by a Muslim woman and gender inequality. As long as it is the choice of women to wear the headscarf, I see no issue with Muslim women wearing them in

Women who cover themselves are assumed to be coerced or capitulating to make pressure, despite the fact that wearing an enveloping. Over is mandatory (in public) in only a few settings and that educated Muslim women in the past thirty years have struggled with the opposite problem: They must defy their families and sometimes the law to take on what they value as pious Islamic dress. (pg.17)

“In 1979 a Revolution took place. It was later called the ‘Islamic Revolution’. Then came 1980: the year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (Satrapi 3). Along with the change in dress code, she describes how schools were separated by gender and bilingual schools were closed.

An article I wrote back on April the 16th in regards to an incoming Citadel cadet requesting for permission to wear her Hijab has just gained a little more traction. Senior political science student/cadet Nick Pinelli,has been punished by school officials for leaking the information which caused an uproar around the nation as well as with alumni. After 175 years the Citadel was considering its first ever uniform exemption and Mr. Pinelli thought others should know so he wrote a post about it on his personal page. Since then he has been punished by having to complete 40 tours , each of which is to include 50 minutes of silent marching with a rifle around the barracks courtyard. Between his daily routines and obligations he must fit these tours

In The legal status of the Islamic headscarf in Bulgaria, Kristen Ghodsee discuss the case of regulating religious symbols in public schools specifically and explore the local politics informing the headscarf cases in Bulgaria. This paper will review Ghodsee’s article as well as her main arguments, and will focus on any areas of weakness within the article.

IHRL opposes both policies on forced religious associations and blanket bans on religious symbols, therefore, the state should neither deny nor impose religious beliefs or manifestations of religious beliefs. Although some states may argue the wearing of certain items such as particular hats or the hijab are more cultural than religious, it is not up to the state to define or interpret the meaning of religious symbols. What is decisive is that the individual considers it to be a manifestation of his or her religious belief. By imposing bans they are denying those who believe it is their duty to dress a certain way.

The Muslim headscarf, or Hijab has been a matter of ongoing debate and controversy in the secular state that is France. Secularism does not exist in a vacuum in France it builds upon ‘complicated emotional inheritance, specifically the negotiation between the religious and state secularism which appears to continually lead to an image of hostility being constructed for Islam, despite the promotion of universality that is allegedly key to the French Republic. This essay discusses the Hijab in France in regard to Jeffrey Stout’s ‘The Folly of Secularism’ and is structured in three main parts. It looks at how Secularism is intensely debated and contested, the way in which event intellectual, political, social shifts are changing through analysing firstly the controversy itself, then laïcité. Secondly, through looking to different aspects of French secular society; law, media and education. and thirdly, as per Stouts framework, discusses how the topic takes us to the heart of the most pressing issues of today, Gender politics, French state personality/nationhood and the Islamophobia that is a result of all of these things.The headscarf affair was generated by multiple social anxieties, namely the preservation of laïcité. The headscarf Controversy in France illuminates the politics of secularity in the way that it reaches across all social and political aspects of secular society in France. Overall, this essay will argue that the politics of secularity are indistinguishable from

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