By
Rabina Khan
Feb. 8,
2021
On March 7,
Switzerland will hold a referendum to decide whether to ban full facial
coverings such as Burqas and Niqab. Polls show that more than 60 percent of
Swiss voters favour the Burqa ban. Although the Swiss cantons of St. Gallen and
Ticino already have a ban on full face coverings following regional votes, the
Swiss government has recommended voters reject the federal proposal, saying a
nationwide constitutional ban would “undermine the sovereignty of the cantons,
damage tourism and be unhelpful for certain groups of women.”
Those
“certain groups of women” are Muslim women.
A woman in London in March 2017. (Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images)
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It is
ironic that the vote will take place on the eve of International Women’s Day on
March 8, which strives for a gender-equal world. Removing a Muslim woman’s
right to wear a face veil is not equality.
Why should
a Muslim woman who chooses to cover her face because of her faith not be
allowed to do so? People of different faiths adhere to different dress codes,
yet it is Muslim women who bear the brunt of this policing around the world.
Switzerland
is far from the first country to propose laws limiting Muslim women’s choice of
attire: France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Latvia, Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium,
Republic of the Congo, Chad, Gabon and Sri Lanka all have laws prohibiting the
wearing of religious face coverings. These bans are called a “security
measure,” even though women’s role throughout history in political violence is
not linked to the clothing they wore.
Although
other countries have typically imposed the ban through legislative votes,
Switzerland has approached the question through a public referendum. It is bad
enough for politicians to bow to bigotry and introduce repressive laws on
women’s dress, but there is something uniquely sinister about the notion of politicians
whipping up popular outrage against an oppressed minority among the voting
public.
So, what is
the petitioners’ motive for wanting a burqa ban? The group behind the proposal
— the Egerkinger Komitee — includes members of the right-wing Swiss People’s
Party who instigated a ban on minarets in 2009, sparking the belief that this
is motivated by religious bias. Supporters of the ban on minarets felt they
were alien to Swiss traditions and values.
Switzerland
is becoming more diverse; 5 percent of the population is Muslim. A survey
conducted in the country in 2018 showed that mistrust of Islam was three times
more prevalent than negative views of Muslims. If niqab-wearing women are being
judged more negatively because of a perceived association to the extremist side
of Islam, this is a false stereotype that we have to break down.
If the ban
on Burqas and Niqabs comes into force, what message will this send to the world
about Switzerland? A beautiful country that relies heavily on tourism needs to
attract foreign visitors, not deter them — particularly given the dire effects
of the pandemic on the country’s tourism industry.
As a recent
article in the Conversation highlights, face-covering bans are especially
hypocritical in this moment because “we are all Niqabis now.” If we can
become accustomed to communicating with each other while all parties are
wearing face masks, then surely we can adapt to communicating with one woman
wearing a Niqab. And as Maria Iqbal, a niqab-wearing Muslim woman, wrote in
Flare, Niqab and Burqas do not have to inhibit communication because “our eyes
play a big role in projecting happiness, and can even show more genuine joy
than smiles.”
There are
certain situations where it is necessary for a woman to remove her face
covering, such as situations involving security, a courtroom or an emergency
medical situation. But the legal normalization through laws banning Muslim
women’s clothing paves the way for them to be discriminated against or harassed
for following their faith. That is fundamentally wrong.
This
problem extends well beyond Switzerland and the countries that have banned face
coverings. As I describe in my forthcoming book, “My Hear is Pink Under This
Veil,” while running in a mayoral election in East London’s Tower Hamlets in
2015, a White man asked me what color my hair was under my veil. I said it was
pink. Throughout my journey from my childhood in Kent in the 1970s — where my
family was the only family of color on our street — to my life today in London
as a hijab-wearing Muslim politician, campaigner and writer, I have endured
discrimination and worked to overturn stereotypes.
Muslim
women do not need fashion tips and restrictions from lawmakers and the public.
They need the world to know that they have the right to choose and have an
equitable place in society.
This year’s
International Women’s Day theme is #ChoosetoChallenge. The challenge for
countries that impose bans on Muslim women is: How are these bans really
helping to forge a truly gender-equal world? I choose to challenge those who
undermine Muslim women and attempt to write off our contributions, and I choose
to challenge the structural inequalities that hold us back.
As a Muslim
woman, I challenge those who try to break us.
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Rabina
Khan is a British writer and Liberal Democrat councillor. Her latest book, “My
Hair Is Pink Under This Veil,” will be released in March.
Original
Headline: Switzerland’s referendum on
burqas is an insult to women’s rights and dignity
Source: The Washington Post
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/burqa-ban-switzerland-removing-muslim/d/124263
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