Battle of the Burqas: Truth Behind the Veil

CON

By: Vernon Meigs

Posted: 2/5/10

Word on the street is that France is considering banning the burqa, the all-covering garment worn by Muslim women as per the Islamic practice of purdah, which prevents them from being seen by men. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that the burqa is "not welcome in France," as the garment is seen not as part of a religious practice but as a representation of subservience and degrading to women. Naturally, the issue is divided between those who are against the burqa because they believe that it oppresses women and those who defend it because it is a woman's choice whether or not to wear it. As I am very much against the oppression of women, I view the practice of wearing the burqa as insane. Do I support the ban of the burqa in France or any other nation? No.

Before I am lumped in with the "burqa choice" advocates, let me make it clear that I believe that, given the choice of wearing a burqa and being free of it, choosing the burqa is rather demented. Therefore, I cannot say I support those promoting the "choice" to wear that particular article of clothing. I cannot stop anyone from wearing one, nor would I want to, but that fact does not prevent me from disapproving of it or trying to argue that women should toss them aside once and for all. Essentially, I believe in active persuasion against the burqa, but not the banning of it. You may think, "But wouldn't banning the burqa get rid of it for good?" Are drug criminalization laws working? Are censorship laws doing anything positive? Banning something never really gets rid of it. If anything, a ban produces a mutant, cancerous form of the original.

The burqa and the custom of purdah, in my eyes and in those of countless others, make the statement that being a woman is shameful, so women must be hidden from the public and from the eyes of men. This practice only serves to remove responsibility from men to behave in a civilized fashion, and gives them some arbitrarily constructed excuse to be the "superior" gender. Furthermore, those who claim Islam and purdah give "dignity" to women are clearly brainwashed, or they desire to maintain that illusion. In the eyes of Muslims (and unfortunately enough, among various other religions and their denominations), a woman's "dignity" or "virtue" consists of the suppression of her sexual freedom and self-expression. Of course, some say that the burqa is a Muslim woman's self-expression. This argument is as effective as saying that one's ideal political preference is to be placed on a plantation with whips and chains.

That said, banning the burqa will not be as effective in ending the practice as it would be to continue to allow women to walk freely away from it. Muslim women who wear burqas still have their faith ingrained in their heads, firmly believe that donning the all-covering garment is a sign of their faith, and are quite convinced that they are virtuous women for observing purdah. What will happen if the burqa is banned? The Islamic community would scream discrimination, kiss up to political correctness, and rant about how their religion is being persecuted. The sad thing is that some people will sympathize with them, and that will only bring a wave of people converting to Islam in rebellion. Imagine that: a world in which oppressed women start a rebellious youth movement. It happened with drugs and alcohol. Are we sensing a pattern yet?

On principle, I stand against the burqa, but I hope to persuade others of this view, rather than legally enforce it. Those who think that any government does a good job fixing things are deluded. Overall, I do not think that the French government should ban the burqa just because it does not like it. A ban will not convince Muslim women to abandon purdah. In fact, active persuaders in a free society could bring an end to the practice by firmly convincing people that its observance is an anti-female statement.