Banning the Burqa in France: A Step in the Right Direction or a Political Tool?
Nicolas Sarkozy traveled to historic Versailles this week to addres a double session of the French Congress (the first time this has happened since the nineteenth century) in order to call for a number of reforms (especially in the public sector). Many of his proposals are sure to anger the Socialists here. But to make the pill a bit sweeter, he offered an olive branch to his leftist opponents: he came out strongly against the burqa, the full-length Islamic garment that covers a woman from head to toe.
If this proposal sounds familiar, it is because it is. Headscarves were banned in public schools here in 2004 under Sarkozy's predecessor Jacques Chirac, in a move that was declared by both parties to be a victory for women.
In fact, coming out against various Islamic practices, mostly concerning the female sex, has proved a useful political tool for ruling politicians here. 70% of the French population supported the headscarf ban and the bill unsurprisingly gained bi-partisan support. In fact, aversion to Islam seems a defining element of the French voting base, for while not everyone in France is secular, the French are fiercely protective of the secular state and are generally confused about how to allow Muslims to practice their faith while having little or no impact on French society.
Sarkozy appears to have aimed well yet again (he was Minister of the Interior during the previous debate on headscarves): a bi-partisan bill has been rapidly introduced in parliament here banning the burqa. but are these repeated attacks on Islamic practices concerning women a step in the right direction or a subversive culture war that could have unexpected consequences?
I'm no advocate of the Burqa, but I know a political unifyer (the opposite of a wedge issue) when I see one.
There is no easy solution to this problem, but French politicians, it seems to me, are playing a delicate and potentially explosive game: waging an under the radar culture war (disguised as a womens' rights campaign), in a bid to protect traditional French secular values.
If this proposal sounds familiar, it is because it is. Headscarves were banned in public schools here in 2004 under Sarkozy's predecessor Jacques Chirac, in a move that was declared by both parties to be a victory for women.
In fact, coming out against various Islamic practices, mostly concerning the female sex, has proved a useful political tool for ruling politicians here. 70% of the French population supported the headscarf ban and the bill unsurprisingly gained bi-partisan support. In fact, aversion to Islam seems a defining element of the French voting base, for while not everyone in France is secular, the French are fiercely protective of the secular state and are generally confused about how to allow Muslims to practice their faith while having little or no impact on French society.
Sarkozy appears to have aimed well yet again (he was Minister of the Interior during the previous debate on headscarves): a bi-partisan bill has been rapidly introduced in parliament here banning the burqa. but are these repeated attacks on Islamic practices concerning women a step in the right direction or a subversive culture war that could have unexpected consequences?
I'm no advocate of the Burqa, but I know a political unifyer (the opposite of a wedge issue) when I see one.
There is no easy solution to this problem, but French politicians, it seems to me, are playing a delicate and potentially explosive game: waging an under the radar culture war (disguised as a womens' rights campaign), in a bid to protect traditional French secular values.
