Imagine yourself as a Muslim. Culturally, for the past hundreds of years, you have worn full body scarves covering your face to show modesty and dedication to your religion. You fully believe this is the right thing to do, and you choose to wear said scarf. You suddenly are restricted this right, and are forced to remove your religious headscarf to obey the rules of the insensitive right-wing rulers of your country. This is not only an invasion of personal freedoms, but insensitive to one’s culture and religion. It’s equivalent of forcing Jewish people to eat pork, or barring Christians out of church. It’s a fundamental human right to practice religion freely, and restricting on these rights is inhumane and insensitive. Some may argue that it restricts female’s rights in society, and that it’s a symbol of the suppression of women in Muslim countries, however it’s all in the woman’s right to wear or not to wear the scarf. To state such is just plain silly. It’s a person’s right to wear what he/she wants to wear. This issue not only extends to the Muslim community, but it extends to non-Muslims, and even intercontinentally, from Europe to North America. It’s important that we recognize individual rights, and taking a step forward against intolerance and restriction, because it may be us next.
Muslim headscarves such as burkas and Hijabs have been the center of religious controversy in central Europe for decades, mainly France and Turkey. In France, laws state that church and government must stay separate, and that religious symbols such as hijabs and crosses must not be worn in schools or government institutions. Laws in Turkey forbid any headscarves from use in government buildings or institutions. These laws create great controversy for the Muslim communities in both nations, where they are culturally required to wear these headpieces. Many Muslims feel as if their fundamental rights are being suppressed and as if they’re being discriminated against. The governments, however, think differently.The argument of the French government is that the women are being suppressed by the burka, and that it’s sexist and backwards. They believe that the women are forced to wear these headscarves, and that they have no choice but to wear them. They see them as an encompassing tomb, in which Muslim women are forcefully locked into, doomed to spend their lives behind the horrible fabric that is the headscarf. Muslim women everywhere are forced to toil in these terrible scarves, or at least according to the French government. However, unknown to many is that not all forms of Islam require the use of headscarves, and that many Muslims chose not to wear them at all. Many women believe that they are unnecessary and chose not to wear them. If they believe they need a law to keep them away from the scarves, then they may as well not wear them at all, as many have. But for those who chose to wear them, it is their right to do so, and to restrict that right is unfair and inhumane. I personally believe that how one dresses, whether it be for fashion or for religion, should be his/her own discretion. I do not believe that the government has the right to tell anyone how they should or should not dress, it is their clothing and their choice.
In an idealistic world, one would not be judged by their clothing or by their culture, and limits would not be put on how one could or could not dress. Different cultures around the world have their very own individual customs and traditions, and it is not in anybody’s power to decide whose culture is superior or correct. Many people tend not to take things into perspective. Deciding that women have not the right to wear traditional headscarves is equivalent to saying that Canadians cannot wear our classic winter toques, or our knitted mittens our mothers made for us. It is intolerant of their own culture. Its intolerance like this that has caused wars, controversy, and also deaths. Ethnocentrism isn’t a thing to be toyed about, it’s a serious issue and laws like this encourage it. We as a global community must take a step forward and brush past the intolerance to unite ourselves a people. Intolerance is not only backwards, but a step in the wrong direction. We’ll never solve global issues such as poverty, war, and disparity if we cannot even accept others’ traditions and cultures. Banning the burka is backwards and unfair.
Alex MacRae
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