McCallion
Quest

 “Don’t kid yourselves, France. The ban on headscarves is simply a feeble attempt to mask your racism” 

By: Courtney Bergart

            Since the start of the 2004 school year, France’s decision was finalized. The French republic, a proud and secular government, voted to ban all conspicuous religious symbols in public schools. This ban, said to enforce secularism (the separation of church and state), targets Sikh turbans, Jewish skullcaps, large Christian crosses and most significantly, Muslim head coverings. The head covering, or hijab, worn as religious obligation, is now considered a crime in France. Some women simply don’t feel comfortable taking off their hijab. At a protest of the ban, 14-year-old Hamdy Jamali told reporters that, “If you asked my sister to take off her headscarf, it would be like asking her to strip naked in the street” (Vigil, 1). Unfair as this sounds, if the Jamalis lived in France, Hamdy’s sister would feel this way each and every day of her life. The government of France is wrong in banning children from wearing religious symbols and head coverings in public schools.  

 France’s ban must be stopped, because it infringes on the human right and freedom to express religion under the United Nations Charter. The French republic made an agreement, a promise, to hold true to this right, when they signed it over 15 years ago.  However, they have been having trouble keeping their promises ever since. In the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it says, “Everyone has freedom of thought, conscience and religion…in public or private, to manifest his religion in teaching, practice worship and observance” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Everyone in France has the right to wear what he or she desires, in particular involving religious attire. Who are they to take away the rights of free people? According to The Human Rights Watch, “Under international law, states can only limit religious practices when there is a compelling safety reason, when the manifestation of religious beliefs would impinge on the rights of others, or when it serves a legitimate educational function”(Human Rights Watch, 1). Clearly, Muslim headscarves, Sikh turbans, Jewish Skullcaps and large Christian crosses do none of this, so the French republic has no right to place this ban on the minorities of its country. Nadia Aziz, 23, a member of one of the interfaith groups that organized a San Francisco protest of the ban, states strongly, “This isn’t a ban on a symbol. It’s a ban on our religious freedom. Wearing a hijab is part of how we practice our faith.”(Vigil, 1). Individuals should legally have the choice to wear a hijab, a turban, or even a tee shirt and shorts; it’s the fact that humans have the freedom to make choices, and France has taken that away. The French law banning visible religious symbols forbids the right of religious expression, and for that reason alone, France should discontinue this ban immediately.   

            Furthermore, this ban takes away certain individuals’ rights to a free public school education. In France, a law was enacted between 1881 and 1886, declaring that all French citizens must be given a free, compulsory education. France would now be breaking an international law by proposing the ban on spiritual symbols. Wearing a hijab or turban, for some, is a religious obligation and they cannot be removed. Therefore, children will be turned away from the ‘free public school education’ they are entitled to if they refuse to remove these symbols. They will be forced to attend costly private schools, thus taking away the right to an education, since most people cannot afford this option. Since the start of the ban, too many young girls have been expelled. In an article from the Associated Press, “A 17-year-old girl was forced out of school in the eastern city of Mullhouse following a disciplinary hearing…at least 72 students faced expulsion for refusing to remove conspicuous religious signs and apparel” (Associated press, 1). These innocent people are being defied their rights! So many students have been forced out of school for disobeying the ban, and these kids are just trying to learn, trying to prepare for their future. Now lower income students may not be able to get into any public school or afford private education. What are they going to do with their lives? These people are losing everything, all because of some ill-conceived ban. An illiterate Muslim and Sikh community in France is not far off. By imposing such a ban, France is taking away the right to a free public school education, which in turn takes away the option of a college or university application. This will only lead to a greater number of uneducated groups in France.    

However, the other side will argue that the ban will eliminate differences and create equality amongst students. They are under the impression that differences are the cause of discrimination, and this ban will make everyone outwardly look the same. This may seem like a noble cause, but differences are a necessary ingredient in public schools. If everyone were the ‘same’, as France is suggesting, the world would be a place of extreme boredom, no creativity, amusement, or art. Public schools are places of learning, teaching students obedience, acceptance and tolerance. If the students of France grow up thinking that differences are wrong, they will bring this to their working life. What if their boss is not ‘the same’—will they decide to quit their job because they have not learned to work with people of different ethnicities? Students need to grow up surrounded by all the colours of the world, so that they learn to appreciate how important it is to be your own person, instead of a clone. According to Michelle Sebasta, a 17-year-old student at St. Francis Xavier Secondary School, differences are positive aspects. She emphasized that, “Young people don’t need to be separated by their religious differences…Here at Xavier, we embrace the differences. They unify us” (Scrivener, 1). These students have learned that it is wrong to simply stamp out religion, and differences in general. Integration in a community can only truly occur when every person has learned to accept and tolerate diversity--immigration of people with different ethnic backgrounds to new countries is not going to stop. What France has done not only lowers the importance of individuality and disregards tolerance of difference, but also sets a low standard for generations to come. France’s ban is nothing more than an unnecessary example of what the French have come to hold dear—a twisted version of secularism in schools: the elimination of differences.     

The other side will also claim that the ban on headscarves will create a unified France and preserve French culture and traditions. France wants all people to be ‘French’ before any religion, and seem to think that banning headscarves will unify everybody. In reality, certain religious groups will feel discriminated against, which will only distance them from their country. When you force people to choose between their country and religion, the people involved will feel pressured and scared. If a woman does not wish to remove her headscarf, and is forced to do so, she will resent whoever made that decision for her. In an article from the World Socialist Web Site (a site devoted to important worldly events), Alex Lefebvre writes, “The inevitable result of this discriminatory law will be to encourage the development of religious separatism and communalist thinking among oppressed sections of the population who feel, justifiably, that they are being singled out for persecution”(Lefebvre, 1). By attempting to bring their country together, France will only create division and hatred amongst its inhabitants. Half of the population will be on one side, and half on the other. This ban will only harm integration and attempt to marginalize Muslim women.  France needs to understand that this will, in no possible way, bring French citizens together or create national pride, but will instead alienate their Muslim community (which numbers 5 million citizens to date).     

The government of France has taken things too far by placing a ban on the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols in government-funded schools. By enforcing this ban, France defies their commitment to allow freedom of religious expression, agreed to in the U.N. charter. As if that were not enough, this also takes away children’s rights to a free public education, putting their futures in danger. In addition, the individuality of each student will be stripped away, pressure will be placed on religious students, and both Muslims and Sikhs in France will be segregated. Those religious students are no different than anyone else, but now because of this ban, students are losing pride in their religion at such an impressionable young age. But at the end of the day, their fate is up to France. Will they choose to have a unified country that respects differences, or will they walk the path that could result in the division of an entire nation?