Veiling, secularism and Islamism: gender constructions in France and Iran

Abstract

In this article we will explore the politicisation of the ubiquitous Muslim veil within a French and Iranian context respectively. We will examine how the prevailing political discourses in both these contexts construct particular representations and realities for Muslim women. Despite different ideological structures and contexts, both France and Iran impose laws and regulations that reduce many Muslim women's capacity for agency and self-expression in the public sphere. We identify certain parallels in how seemingly disparate cultural and national political discourses in these two contexts instrumentalise images of Muslim women for specific ideological agendas. We note how in these very different contexts, dominant discourses on veiling continue to objectify Muslim women and do not engage with Muslim women dialogically as subjects capable of agency and self-definition.France: Pursuing Laicite or Legalizing Xenophobia?Towards the end of the 20th century the veil has emerged as a highly politicised symbol, and often acts as a visible boundary marker between what characterises the West and Islam.2 In many Western societies the overriding association of the veil with oppressed Muslim women has had a negative impact on understandings of Islam as a whole. Especially post- September 11th 2001, the view of Muslim women as both supporting an inherently violent religion, and as subordinated members of the self-same religion has increasingly gained currency in the West In many Western contexts, the veiled Muslim woman has come to symbolise Islam's otherness and its irreconcilable differences from post-enlightenment Western cultures.In France where Islam is a minority religion, the hijab (head-scarf) was prohibited in all public schools by law on 10th February 2004.3 Along with other obvious religious symbols such as the Jewish kippa and flashy Christian crosses, the hijab was seen as a public symbol of strong religious commitment (Plesner, 2004: 153). Before the prohibition by law, each school could decide whether or not they wanted to ban the hijab. This led to heated exchanges regarding schools that prohibited the use of hijab. Consequently, the French government implemented a law prohibiting the wearing of obvious religious symbols at all public schools (Giddens, 2004: 127). The prohibition unleashed intense and, at times, furious debates in Europe. There were massive protests against this prohibition of the hijab from Muslims living in France and other parts of the world.4The apparent reason for the prohibition of the Muslim headscarf in public schools can be found in the French principle of secularisation known as laicite'.5 This principle signifies a separation of church and state as a prerequisite for peace and national integration. As such, maintaining religious neutrality in civil society is seen as central to French secular identity. In this context, the donning of obvious religious symbols are perceived as antagonistic to laicite, fostering forms of diverse public religiosity that purportedly hinder national integration. Simultaneously, the French constitution clearly states that laicite also incorporates the individual's right to religious freedom and the equality of all citizens regardless of origin, race or religion. The right to equal treatment despite religious conviction principally presents a challenge to the prohibition of religious symbols in public schools (Plesner, 2004: 150-160). The application of laicite reveals that there are deep ambiguities in relation to the multilayered meaning of this concept. For some laicite is understood as a commitment of passive neutrality and non-intervention within the private religious realm, while upholding the principle of non-discrimination in public sphere. For others laicite can be understood to mean an overriding obligation to protect secularism, a fundamental assurance of the nation's sovereign independence from religious authorities. …