French Ban the Niqab

Several months ago, the French government banned their citizens from wearing the Niqab, which is a form of Muslim dress for women that covers their entire face and body. They claim it is for security purposes since when you are fully covered, nobody can tell who is under the covering, or what they could be carrying underneath their dress. Also, they claim that this is to help women's rights and that women wearing the Niqab are being contained and aren't free women. If women wear the Niqab, they will get charged a fine of $190. If it is found out that a man is making his wife or daughter wear it, he faces an extremely high penalty of over $30,000. The women who typically wear this dress, however, are outraged and say that them not being able to wear the Niqab is what is restricting. They say that it goes against their beliefs and is a step back from women's liberation. Them wearing the Niqab is liberating to them because they believe are not judged by how they look, but their personality and intelligence. Canada has also recently banned the Niqab and Australia is looking to do the same. While there are many news stories and articles being written about these recent happenings, I think that someone should really be documenting this as a film. While this may seem like a small issue, since not many women across the world wear the Niqab, I think it is telling of how the Western world is reacting to Middle Eastern people as a whole, by restricting their power. It is all part of the post 9/11 thinking. Middle Eastern Muslims aren't just a minority or a foreign people, but a source of fear. We fear what we do not know about, and now what we cannot see (the women's face and bodies). Muslim women's bodies have become sites of political conflict between the West and non-West.