A self-proclaimed Muslim feminist and Egyptian is to be awarded the 2010 Anvil of Freedom Award by the Estlow Center for Journalism and New Media. The problem with this is that Mona Eltahawy, a well known journalist, although extremely talented at making you think, isn’t quite an ambassador of freedom. My main beef with Eltahawy is a recent article of hers published in the New York Times entitled “Ban the Burqa.†The obvious flaw is that by banning the burqa, we would be taking away the rights of all the women who choose to wear it. If the article had been entitled “I don’t agree with the burqa, but who am I to stop you?†I’d be writing a very different article right now. Eltahawy’s article focuses on the burqa in France, and Nicolas Sarkozy’s plight to ban it. Surely Eltahawy must see that the same way that she, as a Muslim woman, should be allowed not to wear the niqab, should she so please, other women should not be prevented from wearing it. It’s not that I, as a Muslim woman, believe that the burqa is obligatory. Indeed I agree with many of Eltahawy’s sentiments – that the niqab is a cultural piece of clothing – for example, as opposed to religious. I particularly think there is no need for it in Western countries, as it often attracts negative attention. The whole point of dressing modestly is to ensure that one does not attract attention. However my support of the burqa, or rather, lack of it, is irrelevant. To take away a woman’s liberty to wear what she wants- whatever she wants- is to succumb to the very thing that Eltahawy appears to be fighting against- the curtailing of basic liberties. For Sarkozy it is a betrayal of humanity to demand that a particular group of people conform to a social uniform. For Eltahawy it is a betrayal of sisterhood to pose as a representative of a community without representing its diversity. Why do people find diversity so terrifying? Indeed when Eltahawy first saw a woman in the burqa in Copenhagen, she was “horrifiedâ€. Strange use of adjective. Sure, war is horrifying, so too is paedophilia, I might even go as far as to say that Fox News’ concept of the term ‘News’ is horrifying…but to refer to the burqa as horrifying is, frankly, a little bit horrifying. I would have expected a more befitting adjective from such an eloquent woman. Who is one man or woman, however educated and respected, to say that his or her opinion should be imposed upon all others? Does that demonstrate a respect for all human beings and their intelligence? Such testimonies run the danger of being misconstrued as superiority and being patronising never helped anyone convince their opponent that they were right. Eltahawy supports Sarkozy on this occasion because he claims that “The burqa is not a religious sign, it is a sign of the subjugation, of the submission of women.†If the burqa is not religious, however, will we ban all clothes that are socially unacceptable? Hoodies, particularly in the UK, carry much stigma. People (or rather, adults) see them as threatening and yobbish and therefore a symbol of hooliganism. A ban on the burqa would be a physical manifestation of I-know-better-than-you. I’m willing to bet Sarkozy has never tried a burqa on. Even if he had, would it be right for him, or for any commentator to curtail liberties because they believe they know what’s good for you? In such a case, they would need to impose an all-out ban on drinking alcohol, smoking, fatty foods and candy. Aren’t all of these bad for us? So why is it that the burqa in particular is being singled out as the big evil? If, as both Sarkozy and Eltahawi claim, the burqa is not religious, why would they ban it as part of Sarkozy’s quest for total and surgical secularism? Surely as a non-religious symbol there is no need to ban it from schools? You can’t have it both ways. It’s either religious and therefore it is banned in order to ‘protect’ the secular identity of France, or it is not and should insight no reaction whatsoever. I commend Eltahawy for challenging the norms of society, and I agree that the burqa should be challenged, but it is a complete contradiction to prohibit women from having the freedom to choose. It is also somewhat ironic to award the Anvil of Freedom award to a person who is condoning a restrictive law. Perhaps Eltahawi is right when she insists that wearing the burqa erases women. But by forcing them to not wear it, we would be telling them that it is okay to be erased, that it is okay not to have freedom and that it is right and lawful to be oppressed. Now that is truly horrifying. BM
