Often, speeches were given afterwards in support of the French and the emancipation of Muslim women. While these highly-publicized ceremonies were framed as spaces of empowerment for Muslim women, other accounts of this history tell a different story.
The symbolic power of the veil during this time, however, was not only recognized by the French, but also by those fighting for Algerian liberation. During the war, the veil also became a literal tool of resistance. Some female freedom fighters for the National Liberation Front used haiks to conceal weapons and classified information ; after this tactic was discovered, they used unveiling to their advantage, adopting European dress as a way to fly under the radar of the French.
Within France, at the intersection of gender, ethnic and religious identities, the Muslim veil or head covering took on new significance in the 20th century. Because of the popularity of orientalist art during this time, the veil already had stereotypes of the foreign and forbidden. From: Inside Story. More from News. Pakistan takes far-right leader off terror list to end protests. Most Read. In Pictures: Hindus bathe in frothy, polluted Indian river.
Ahmas, 32, French, a divorced single mother of a three-year-old daughter, puts her handbag on the table and takes out a pepper spray and attack alarm. She doesn't live on the high-rise estates but on a quiet street of semi-detached houses.
The last time she was attacked in the street a man and woman punched her in front of her daughter, called her a whore and told her to go back to Afghanistan. In my head, I have to prepare for war every time I step outside, prepare to come up against people who want to put a bullet in my head. The politicians claimed they were liberating us; what they've done is to exclude us from the social sphere.
Before this law, I never asked myself whether I'd be able to make it to a cafe or collect documents from a town hall. One politician in favour of the ban said niqabs were 'walking prisons'.
Well, that's exactly where we've been stuck by this law. But despite all the fanfare surrounding the niqab ban, no woman has yet been punished under the law for wearing one.
The first real test will come on Thursday, when a local judge in Meaux, east of Paris, will decide whether to hand out to Ahmas and a friend the first ever fine. The cake was a joke, a play on the French word for fine, amende. They wanted to highlight the absurdity of a law that they say has increased a mood of anti-Muslim discrimination and driven a wedge through French society, yet seems not to have been taken seriously by the justice system.
Sarkozy was accused of stigmatising women in niqab to win votes from the extreme right, yet the law didn't actually boost his poll ratings.
Now, human rights lawyers are suggesting it could soon be overturned. Only the French police can confront a woman in niqab. Some police have wrongly given on-the-spot fines, which were later annulled. Others appear to ignore women in niqab walking down the street, perhaps because they feel they have more important crimes to be stopping.
The interior ministry says that since the law came into force in April there have been 91 incidents of women in niqab being stopped by police outside Paris and nine incidents in the Paris region. Each time, police file a report, but so far no judge has handed out a fine or citizenship course. The French justice ministry says "fewer than 10" cases are currently going through the courts and the lack of fines shows the state favours "dialogue" not punishment.
But Gilles Devers, a lawyer acting for Ahmas and several other women in niqab, argued punishments were not being handed out because the niqab law contravenes European human rights legislation on personal liberties and freedom of religion. As soon as a fine is imposed, there will be an appeal right up to the European court of human rights in Strasbourg, which could rule against the law and expose the French state as a laughing stock.
If the French law is challenged in this way, the result would be crucial for Muslims across the continent. Belgium introduced its own niqab ban this summer, punishable not just by a fine but seven days in prison. In Italy, the far-right Northern League has resuscitated a law against face coverings to fine women in certain areas of the north. Silvio Berlusconi's party is now preparing an anti-niqab law.
A mesh screen in front of the eyes allows the wearer to see. The forbidden items included turbans, skullcaps, and crucifixes. Before passing this law, the debate about it had been ongoing for over two decades. One of the central reasons was the perception of the French people to regard headscarves worn by Muslims as a sign of oppression faced by women, which in turn is believed to be an embodiment against secularism, an ideal highly regarded in France, because of its essential links with the French Revolution.
Through its Ministry of Interior and the Observatory of Secularism, it has 21 university degrees that focus on teachings about religion in France, and secularism. December 9 is observed as National Secularity Day in the country.
The bill is meant to prohibit the concealment of the face in public spaces.
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