Note: Article contains images of faces.
Quote:
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, France is faced with a paradox: It has just made the wearing of masks compulsory in certain public spaces, but maintained the years-long ban on Muslim full-face veils. This suggests, as the Washington Post recently noted, “if an observant Muslim woman wanted to get on the Paris Metro, she would be required to remove her burqa and replace it with a mask”.
While the few women in France who wear full-face veils were never included in the “burqa” debate, several prominent public figures – mostly men – passionately argued that no one would willingly choose to wear such a garment and that anyone wearing it was undoubtedly a victim of male oppression. Failing to realise the irony of denying women agency over their own bodies and outfit choices while trying to “save them” from gendered oppression, these people eventually convinced the country that all face coverings should be banned to protect women’s rights and French values.
While the few women in France who wear full-face veils were never included in the “burqa” debate, several prominent public figures – mostly men – passionately argued that no one would willingly choose to wear such a garment and that anyone wearing it was undoubtedly a victim of male oppression. Failing to realise the irony of denying women agency over their own bodies and outfit choices while trying to “save them” from gendered oppression, these people eventually convinced the country that all face coverings should be banned to protect women’s rights and French values.
