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Insider perspectives and the human rights debate on face veil bans

par Bribosia, Emmanuelle ;Rorive, Isabelle
Editeur scientifique Brems, Eva
Référence The Experiences of Face Veil Wearers in Europe and the Law, Cambridge University Press, page (163-183)
Publication Publié, 2014-01

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Résumé :

Summary The ‘burqa bans’ adopted in Belgium and France and contemplated elsewhere in Europe, have mobilized human rights activists and scholars, who are nearly unanimous in accusing governments and public authorities banning face veiling of violations of religious freedom and discrimination on grounds of religion as well as gender. Yet like the governments banning the face veil, the human rights activists did not have much information at their disposal concerning the experiences of women wearing it. In this chapter, the human rights debate about the face veil is revisited, taking into account the insider perspectives of those women. A hard case entangled in a poor democratic process For years now, the practice of the Muslim faith has been at the heart of several globally debated polemics, for instance the 2009 referendum in Switzerland banning the construction of minarets and vehement reactions against a mosque to be built two blocks away from Ground Zero in New York. One of the latest controversies concerns the full facial veil, which led several European countries to adopt regulations or legislation commonly known as ‘burqa bans’. Terminology is not without significance here. The burqa refers to a specific type of dress worn in Afghanistan which is intrinsically linked to the tyrannical Taliban regime in the Western imaginary world. The face veil commonly present in the West is black, leaves the eyes free and is named the niqab by the women wearing it. The latter generally oppose the term burqa not only because it is inappropriate, but also because its use is perceived as a way to link them to negative and violent images of Islam.