Clothes

by Susie Burdett

My thoughts recently have been on clothes. And for once thats not just because I've been shopping in the sales (taupe silk/cotton shift dress if you must know), but because I have realised how central clothes are to me, without even realising. It is also appropriate due to recent issues concerning the attire that many Muslim women choose to wear.


France (among other countries) have now banned the wearing of the burqa and the niqab in public. They have cited a number of reasons for doing so, including that wearing such an obvious religious symbol is against French values of equality and secularism, and that the full face veil was a sign of discrimination against women.

Now, I'm in two minds over this issue. One part of me can't help feeling outraged to assume that;

a) women are being forced to wear the veil, when many choose to do so freely, and under no pressure except that of her own religious feeling, and that this assumption underlines the prejudice that assumes women are helpless and ignores that large amount of evidence that women are perfectly able to make up their own minds about an issue

b) that the banning of an article of clothing is not equally as discriminating as forcing someone against their will to wear something.

Yet, part of me can't help agreeing with others that the veil reflects an extreme reading of Islam and the Koran, and that it also reflects the unwillingness of certain sectors of the migrant population to assimilate into their new home (see this article for further discussion on this). Even within the Muslim community, opinion is divided (see for instance, this article about a French, Muslim politician and this blog for opinions in favour of the ban from within the Muslim community).

Personally, I have to agree with Valerie Hartwich on this one, that this is an over simplification of a far wider issue, and I would add that I am deeply suspicious of any law that attempts to dictate what women can and cannot wear. This quote from Hartwich pretty much sums it up:

Women’s liberation is a battle that has been fought for over a century, and will have to continue through sheer dedication, advocacy and dialogue. Equally, ensuring national security and cohesion is a tedious task, which requires enormous amounts of personnel, intelligence and dialogue. In neither cases will a law banning the burqa truly help. It might give the illusion of political action, and reassure some that ‘sacred Western values’ are being preserved. But in fact, it will go a long way towards entrenching positions further, rendering dialogue harder, and making tensions run higher. A law will not resolve the identity crisis many European countries are going through, nor will it help towards the integration of European citizens. The burqa is but a crystallisation, an expression of these tensions.