2 | August 25, 2010

Opinion The Rambler | www.therambler.org/rambler

French bill oversteps boundary Staff Editorial

gion, though be not only prepared for, but I will also agree that the
it is hard to accepting of different cultures Muslim religion imposes

Chuck Fain
Arts & entertainment editor
cfain@mail.txwes.edu
imagine the
new mea-
sure affecting
living within their borders.
Even if that democracy is sec-
ular, which it is in France, that
more restrictions on its fe-
male followers than any other
religion, but that is their pre-
Wesleyan makes
strides, could still
anyone else. government has no right to rogative. As long as physical
While the impose upon an individual’s abuse does not accompany
French are religion. their high standards of mod-

accomplish more
not willing to Politics and religion should esty, it is none of the govern-
From their pencil-thin put their feelings of Muslim stay separate, in that one deals ment’s business.
mustaches to their outrageous oppression in writing, they with logical problem solving If the French government
accents, it’s clear to see why seem to have no problem vo- and the other deals with faith. were to set up a foundation
the French annoy so many. calizing the bill’s bias. Each serves a function, but helping women who feel op- After several weeks of The next step in the process
France recently gave everyone The Associated Press quot- independently of one another. pressed in their religion it working on our tans and is making all textbook titles
a legitimate reason to dislike ed French President Nicolas That said, women wearing would be one thing. But the resting our minds, the sum- available for rental.
them. Sarkozy by saying, “The full burqas should have no affect French have taken it upon mer is slipping away. Unless The new fitness center
France’s lower house of veil is not welcome in France on how a country is run. If a themselves to force “freedom” you ignored the news alto- took shape over the sum-
Parliament passed a measure because it runs contrary to government is so unstable that upon these women. Not ev- gether the past few months, mer break and promises to
banning concealing garments our values and contrary to the a fashion disagreement can ery Muslim woman feels op- you have heard about the make a big difference later
worn mainly by Muslim idea we have of a woman’s dig- topple it, the system should pressed by the hyper-modest catastrophic oil spill in in the semester. While we
women. The bill is officially nity.” probably be reexamined. garments. Some feel more pro- the Gulf of Mexico. About were splashing around in
titled “The Bill to Forbid Con- Neighboring Spain is con- I’m not defending the Mus- tected, others do it as a display 8.1 million Americans are the baby pool and sipping
cealing One’s Face in Public,” sidering a similar ban, citing lim religion or any other reli- of faith and purity, and some worse off economically frosty drinks, our campus
while known colloquially as similar reasons. gion. wear it to honor tradition. now than when the reces- has taken on a more mod-
the “anti-burqa law.” Even The French give other rea- I agree with the initial Perhaps the most ironic sion started, according to ern look. Obviously, we
more brazen is the added ex- sons such as a national iden- premise that wearing a burqa aspect of this whole ordeal is financial website seekingal- have a small campus, but
ceptions in the law for “mo- tity, a secular government and seems ridiculous, but so does Sarkozy contradicts his efforts pha.com. new facilities offer new op-
torcycle helmets, or masks for increased social opportunities drinking the blood of your to preserve France’s secular While the rest of the portunities. Keep building.
health reasons, fencing, skiing as justifications for the law, savior or not eating pork. A government by imposing his world falls apart, Wesleyan The right leadership will
or carnivals.” which is nothing more than free democracy should not own religious bias into his is progressing. continue to improve this
The French government a direct attack on a specific impose religious restriction lawmaking practices. Wesleyan’s athletic direc- university incrementally.
insists the law does not dis- religion, plain and simple. upon its citizens, no matter Well, what do you expect tor Kevin Millikan recently While time is needed in
criminate against the Muslim The French have an egalitar- how much it disagrees with from the people who brought accepted the Red River the valuable decision mak-
people or the Islamic reli- ian democracy. They should said religion. the world mimes? Athletic Conference’s Ath- ing process, administra-
letic Director of the Year tors should keep the stu-
award while adding a cross dents informed and the
country and track program. process transparent. Like-
We have a lot of student wise, props to the people
athletes to be proud of at in charge for contracting a
Wesleyan. The best athletes new security firm, Guards-
in the conference shouldn’t mark Inc., over the sum-
be asked to occupy the least mer.
desirable housing on cam- There is always going
pus. Let’s put those consul- to be bad news. The good
tant dollars to use and not news is we have students,
only maximize occupancy, faculty and administrators
but maximize the quality of who are taking steps every-
life for the occupants too. day to improve our experi-
Limited textbook rentals ence in higher education.
are now available directly As we move through the
from the Wesleyan book- ranks toward graduation,
store, saving an average we owe it to ourselves and
of 55 percent more than to the students who will
buying. This new program follow, to expect the best
is putting money back in campus life experience our
students’ pockets at a time money can buy. Wesleyan
when increased tuition has made strides lately.
rates may have put serious But there’s still room for
pressure on their budgets. improvement.

Law restricting burqa provides equality and security

Meisa
Keivani Najafabadi
Photo editor
mkeivaninajafanadi
@mail.txwes.edu
French history is loaded with radi-
cal political, social and art move-
ments. The political revolution of
1848 and the Impressionist painting
movement of the 19th century are
historic examples.
Such important revolutions im-
pacted not only France but many
other countries around the globe.
At first, the ideas received criticism
before being identified as influential
movements that had important ef-
fects on the modern Era. While there
may be no consensus on the effects
of the French Revolution, no one can
deny its impacts on Europe and the
world. It is thought by some to be a
turning point in political history that
gave more power to the middle class
and put an end to feudalism.
Radicalism has found its way into
the French political system.
The French Parliament received
heavy criticism after approving a
ban on wearing burqas or neqabs
(face veils). The bill goes to Senate in
September. If the law passes, Islamic
women cannot legally wear face veils
in public.
In the Islamic world, women have
long been forced to hide their beau-
ty, gender and most importantly,
their true “self ” under veils. Under
the guise of “Islamic law,” women’s
basic rights have been restricted and
manipulated for centuries.
Sept. 11 survivors won’t blame the
French government for passing a law
promoting the identification of any-
one who enters a public space. An
increase in terrorism during the past
decade has fostered a tolerance for the
strict security measures faced by west-
ern societies.
Some criticize the bill as discrimi-
natory against Muslim women be-
cause it prevents them from follow-
ing their religious traditions. The
Quran doesn’t provide details on face
and body concealment, nor does it
suggest that women wear burqas.
According to the Quran, “And
tell the believing women to reduce
[some] of their vision and guard
their private parts and not expose
their adornment except that which
[necessarily] appears thereof and to
wrap [a portion of] their head covers
over their chests.”
Banning the veil doesn’t interfere
with Islamic laws. Muslim women
have worn veils not as a form of re-
ligious obligation, but as a social tra-
dition they’re forced to follow.
Muslim women have long been
prevented from participating as
equals in their societies. Islamic law
invalidates equal rights for men and
women. Such equality is overlooked
by men in Islamic societies.
Women are required to have their
husband’s permission to participate
in any social activity. They are even
required to obtain such permission to
identify themselves with a passport.
Wearing veils also creates a bar-
rier for women by restricting their
participation in social affairs. These
women don’t believe in wearing a
burqa or hijab. They’re forced either
by their family or by Islamic soci-
ety to follow the tradition of hiding
themselves under veils. Wearing
burqas during a conversation elimi-
nates important eye contact and fa-
cial expressions, which can weaken
trust.
While experiencing life, as a non-
Muslim, in an Islamic country, Iran,
I found that most women are unwill-
ing to wear the hijab or veil because
they consider it a barrier that inter-
feres with freedom.
The French bill is a promise of a
brighter future for Muslim women,
at least in France, so that no one can
force them to wear the burqa.
This law will open doors allowing
Muslim women to improve their so-
cial participation.

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