by Oscar Pocasangre
Today, while checking out the New York Times before starting my work, I stumbled upon an article that gave me a hard case of cognitive dissonance that I'm still trying to resolve. The article discussed how French President Nicolas Sarkozy is leading a campaign to ban the Muslim burqa in France on the grounds that it is demeaning and oppressive for women. Sarkozy argued that France cannot allow for women to continue being prisoners in these garments.
I wholeheartedly agree that women should not be oppressed or kept at the margin of social life. Indeed, women are entitled to be active citizens and nothing should bar them from the day to day happenings of society. But I don't know how I feel about banning a clothing garment that is intimately associated with a religion.
Isn't this - telling people what they can and cannot wear - being too invasive of personal life? Is the French government going too far? Back in 2004, it even banned conspicuous religious symbols from schools. Doesn't this go against Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that "everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance"?
Personally, if the government of my country were to prohibit wearing crucifixes I would feel like my right to manifest and observe my religious beliefs is being violated. I know that a crucifix does not marginalize me, but wearing it is a religious tradition in Catholicism just like wearing the burqa is in Islam. While, I don't know enough about Islam and its practices to say that women who adhere to its religious traditions should wear them, I do feel that if a woman wants to wear it and feels comfortable wearing it, she should be able to.
I do not believe that it is the garment, per se, what is oppressing women. A culture of domineering males who don't allow their wives, daugthers, or sisters to express themselves freely and limit their life opportunities in many different domains is the problem that should be addressed if any change is to be made. Moreover - and I know this sounds idealistic and might border on cliché - we should all make an effort to understand the values of other cultures and religions and recognize that many times they will differ from ours.
