The French problem

Even liberal Americans can find themselves at odds with the French. Recently, Nicholas Sarkozy while addressing the parliament talking about the burqa (the veil that Islamic women wear), mentioned that is a sign of the subjugation, of the submission, of women.” It is, he added, “not welcome in France.” Headscarves have been banned in French schools since 2004. This is in direct contradiction with Obama’s comments: “I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal..”

Of course we Americans have a totally different philosophy when it comes to religion and the separation of church and state. The following is a well-said quote from the American Prospect magazine’s article “Burqa politics in France“.

A ban on burqas would, of course, be unthinkable in the American context, because our understanding of church state separation, and of free speech, is quite different than the one prevailing in France. “Here in America, the separation of church and state is about the protection of religion from the state,” Scott says. “In France, the idea is to protect individuals from the claims of religion. The state can intervene on behalf of individuals when they are thought to be oppressed by some communal group.”

Anytime when the state tries to intervene in individual religious preferences, it ends up in failure. What the French doesn’t understand is the fact that MANY women in the Muslim world choose to wear these head covers. Of course some are forced, but you cannot introduce a new ban on all the people while trying to protect the rights of few. By doing so, you will be violating the rights of the masses.

The government cannot and should not have a say on what a person can or cannot wear. I can pierce my body if I want to, I can tattoo my butt if I want to, I can go naked in the arctic cold if I want to, I can show my breasts or cover my face if I want to. I am free and I live in a free world. The country that gave democracy to the world should know better.