Why Do Islamic Women Wear Niqas

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said earlier this year that the full veil, such as the niqab or the burqa, "hurts the dignity of women and is not acceptable in French society" (Aljazeera). In opposition to the critics' argument, Alveena Malik, a former faith adviser to the last Labour government , believes, Britain needs to take a different direction from others in Europe and to accept the veil as part of a modern British way of life(Ross). She also believes that the religious practice of the Islamic face veil should be a fundamental right. By giving Muslims the fundamental right of practicing their religion, it would give them the right to express their freedom and religion. If Britain decided to deprive the Muslims of their fundamental right like France did, then Britain would be trying to force the Muslims that participate in wearing the Islamic face veil to conform to their society like France as well. The government says that the reason for the ban on the Islamic face veil is because of security and the values or beliefs of the country in which the Muslims reside in. For instance: France says that the ban may cause France to be a target of terrorism. If France is concerned about the security of the citizens and knows that banning the Islamic face veil would cause a potential problem of terrorism, it seems like France would

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.

. The wearing of burqa has become contested in European nations for reasons of security and identification but also as a challenge to women's rights from both sides of the fence . Opponents argue that it is from an oppressive patriarchal culture that makes women cover up, though for many Muslim women they feel it is their choice to wear it for religious reasons and stopping them doing so is impacting their rights. Groups both in the West and those that oppose the west have presented ideas about the nature of Muslims to support their cause, this comprising of being highly aggressive, opposed to liberty,unafraid of death being prepared to go to any lengths to achieve their objectives. These ideas mean immigration within the west has become highly contested especially since the recession for economic , social and security reasons, and a fear about immigrants has been created that is not beneficial to moving forward . An article in the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) polled attitudes towards muslims and found that they were more favourable when groups met and discussed their points of view, they found that it led to a greater understanding and reduced

Politicians in Quebec have passed a controversial religious neutrality bill which would require people receiving and giving services to expose their faces and could mean that the Muslim niqab or burqa could be banned in public.

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.

In the article,” comment”,Pat Lancaster, an editorial writer, argues let them discard that they should have the choice to do so but a personal one,as well as needing to uphold personal freedoms. She believes that without liberty,egality and fraternity France wouldn't be the same. She or he supports the claim by giving evidence about equality and emancipation. People culture and who they are being taken away by the government and people of the same culture supporting the ban. She follows this with reasons why they shouldn't ban the hijabs and how other ethics including muslims contribute leading european power .

A nun can be covered from head to toe in order to devote herself to god. But when a Muslim woman does the same she is being oppressed. It may be argued that wearing a burqa benefits only a few and brings more harm than good to society. The real question is who does it harm? That should be the basis for banning this piece of clothing, not one based on fear or an arguably feeble argument that the women do not have a choice. To say that a ban on a specific item like this is undemocratic is an understatement. Following the French senate’s unanimous vote in favour of banning the burqa in late 2010, many European and western countries including Belgium and Spain have made the decision to take the

The reason behind the new law shows the fundamentalist’s view of women, they must be aware of how men could react to them in public if they reveal too much skin. Basically, the awful behavior of men toward women, is the women’s fault. "They insulted me. They said that women like me should be pushed up against a wall and fucked and then thrown in the garbage." (The Trip 19). This quote perfectly describes the above statement. Just because her mother did not wear a veil, she had to suffer. Some women even covered their full bodies, called a chador. If they don’t they would be seen as the Other within their own society not following the rules, and as a result there will be violence. “… if Others are not rendered invisible, they may instead suffer from hypervisibility, wherein differences between the preferred self or group and the deemed deficient individual or group are highlighted. For example, Muslim women who wear headscarves that hide their hair and necks may be Othered because of their definitions and display of modesty. Although a woman wearing a headscarf may not feel her religious practices are the most important layer of her identity, and instead believes her educational level is the most defining layer of her identity, she will likely be hypervisible in the scarf to others and will be deemed an Other” (Other.The 3). This quote from encyclopedia of identity, leads to the idea that in other societies, despite their believes, they would still be seen as the

We think we can impose our own beliefs on others that do not share them, such as this problem of arresting Muslim women's for a wearing burkini to the beach (Quinn, B. (2016, August 23). French police make woman remove clothing on Nice beach following burkini ban. Retrieved June 18, 2017 ). A Muslim woman in France was at a beach supposedly to be wearing a burkini and witnesses say, 3 Police Officers came to have the woman remove her burkini due to the controversial bans on burkinis. See how we are enforcing our beliefs of burkini not being allowed because they are weird and also not a normal thing to see, ruined a woman's time at the beach but also caused her to pay money. People at that beach thought the women was a bad person due to the

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.

Burqa bans are unlawfully stripping Muslim women of their right to follow and show their commitment to their religion. Many countries in the United Nations are beginning to put a nationwide ban on wearing burqas in public. This restricts Islamic women by giving them the choice to either defy their religion, or stay inside their house and not get anything done. Not only does this restrict daily activities, but it makes it challenging for islamic women to get a quality education. Overall, countries are putting a national ban on niqabs, forcing muslim women to betray their religious beliefs in order to perform simple activities.

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

Among other studies done on young Muslim women who hijab, one women said “"I lived in a co-ed dorm and it was really the first time I had to deal with unwanted attention from guys. I guess that was the first time I really understood why it was necessary to wear a scarf, because as soon as I did, all the idiots left me alone” (Ali, 2005). Another woman’s view was “because I began to realize that what people think is nowhere compared to Allah, and so, how could I blatantly disobey an order because of 'standing out?” (Ali, 2005). It would also surprise many that in some of these women’s cases, their choice to hijab was not only not forced, but also not even supported by family members. Some of these women’s parents had hard times coping with their daughters taking up this wardrobe.