France Report Backs Face Veil Ban
A French parliamentary committee has proposed banning Islamic face veils in schools, government offices, hospitals, and on public transportation, BBC News writes. In the near 200-page report, the committee states that “ ‘the wearing of the full veil is a challenge to our republic. This is unacceptable. We must condemn this excess.’ ” The committee recommends refusing residence cards and citizenship to anyone who shows “visible signs of ‘radical religious practice.’ ” As speaker Bernard Accoyer said to the French National Assembly when presenting the report, the face veil “ ‘is the symbol of the repression of women, and … of extremist fundamentalism. This divisive approach is a denial of the equality between men and women and a rejection of co-existence side-by-side, without which our republic is nothing.’ ” Though polls suggest most French people support a full ban, the report does not call for a ban explicitly, because “there is also a fear that an outright ban would not only be difficult to implement but would be distasteful and could make France a target for terrorism.” Another reason the committee did not call for a full ban, Accoyer said, was because “ ‘no-one should feel stigmatized’ by any eventual law.”
- Why do you think the face veil has attracted so much attention when it is estimated that only 1,900 of five million French Muslims choose to cover their faces? What does the debate suggest about French identity?
- The French parliamentary committee’s report states that “ ‘the wearing of the full veil is a challenge to our republic.’ ” Why do the authors believe that wearing the “full veil” is a threat to the republic?
- Speaker Bernard Accoyer who presented the report to the French National Assembly said that the face veil “ ‘is the symbol of the repression of women, and … of extremist fundamentalism.’ ” Why do you think Accoyer views the face veil in this way? Many Muslim women who cover their faces would disagree with Accoyer’s characterization of the face veil. How can they get heard? Who has the authority to define the meaning of a religious or cultural practice?
- BBC News writes that “the report is expected to be followed by the drafting of a bill and a parliamentary debate on the issue.” Even if the government’s goal is to get rid of the face veil, do you think passing a law against it is the most effective way to achieve that goal?
- What arguments do the authors of the report give for their suggestion that women who wear the face veil should be denied citizenship? To what extent should assimilation of traditional French norms and values be required for citizenship? How do people become integrated into a community? Does assimilation require people to give up part of their culture and identity? What about integration? What are the differences?
- Accoyer specified that the report does not “explicitly call for a ban, saying ‘no-one should feel stigmatized by any eventual law.’ ” French President Nicolas Sarkozy has also said that France cannot let Muslims be stigmatized. What does it mean to be stigmatized? Why do you think Accoyer is concerned that people might feel stigmatized by the panel’s recommendations? How might the debate about veils and Muslim integration shape the way Muslims and non-Muslims in France think about themselves and others?
