Banned Hijab (headscarf or veil)

It is a common occurrence to find Muslim women wearing headscarf or the veil commonly referred to as Hijab in public. Public wearing of Hijab in the countries like France and Turkey has faced a ban as a result of the need to expose facial identity and prevent extremism. In Turkey, the headscarves were banned in official buildings and the civic places and also it was strictly banned in the universities hence allowing only to be worn under the chin. The French parliament also recommended a partial ban inside hospital buildings and schools for security reasons for those seeking public services.

The main purpose here is to ensure safety by making it easier for identification of the faces of people involved. This is applicable more so when showing the faces in the passports in the airports and some transport systems. Therefore, it is necessary to see one’s face so that one identifies the person when the crime is committed and take respective measures. The banning is seen as a measure to liberalize a Muslim woman. This is because it is assumed that Muslim women are forced to wear the Hijab.

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Therefore, the ban will reduce this restriction by making the Muslim women have a choice of wearing the Hijab or not. A considerable percentage of the Muslim women population is wearing the Hijab showing that the Muslim men are actually forcing their women in wearing them. Many have confessed that of those who wore the clothing they were simply forced and subjected to do so against their will (Asser, 2006). This is why the governments of France and Turkey decided to protect the rights of the Muslim women.

Protection was effected by leading a Muslim woman, wearing a Hijab, to a safe place and asking her if she was forced to wear it and then offer help when necessary. Wearing of the Hijab actually meant to promote extremism. Extremism actually arises from the countries that order women to wear Hijab. In addition, the ban was considered as a way of expressing self in an oppressive way towards the modesty of a woman character. This is so because it was considered a way of denying a Muslim woman a right to choose what to wear in the present modernized world.

The French community is itself banning the clothing for the interests of secularism. This is so because of the oppression received by the church for a few centuries in the past. Therefore, to see many of the French people increasingly becoming religious whether French or Immigrant is very disturbing to this community. The wearing of Hijab is an ethical requirement according to the teachings of Quran. The government ban will therefore lead to an infringement of a basic right of choice (Human Rights Watch).

The issue of Banning the Hijab has lead to a number of challenges among Muslim community. This was seen as biasness towards Muslim religion. It was argued that if the ban was really for the purposes of security, it is even easier to conceal weapons under the garments than the face. Banning of the Hijab has also led to an increase in negative sentiments against governments of France and Turkey as a way of opposition to this ban. The extremists have also increased hatred in the west especially in France which has led to many attacks on the country in general.

This has also had an effect on the increase in threat to public safety and also an increase in Islamophobia which is an Islamic religion which promotes wearing of the headscarves and the Hijab. Prohibition of the headscarves in Turkey has led to a drastic decrease on the student intake in most colleges and universities due to the fact that about 70 percent of the students in Turkey wear headscarves and that this bring about discrimination in the education sector. On the other hand, the state’s prohibition has changed the attitudes of the private sector on the employment of women who wear the Hijab.

This has contributed to a decline of women’s employment rates in Turkey which is constantly declining. It was reported that women who wore headscarves were experiencing hard times in finding employment in the private sector which is the same like when trying to get a degree. This has made the government t to relax its ban (Islam online, 2010). Therefore, the issue of prohibiting wearing of the Hiijab by the Muslim society brings about many social issues towards both the religion and the involved governments.

It is seen as a security factor to the public and also as a way of protecting those who are opposing the culture. But on the other hand it is seen as a contributory factor towards a decline in employment opportunities and also dangerous as it creates enmity and risk of terrorist attacks. Therefore, this issue should be addressed critically to balance the arising effects to both the governments and the Muslim community. Works Cited Human Rights Watch. France: Headscarf Ban Violates Religious Freedom.

February 2004. Viewed on 14 July 2010 from http://www. hrw. org/en/news/2004/02/26/france-headscarf-ban-violates-religious-freedom Asser, Martin. Why Muslim Women Wear the Veil. BBC News, October 2006. Viewed on 14 July 2010 from http://www. apologeticsindex. org/504-muslim-veils Islam online. Turkey Relaxes Hijab Ban. February 2010. Viewed on 14 July 2010 from http://www. islamonline. net/servlet/Satellite? c=Article_C&cid=1201957722066&pagename=Zone-English-News%2FNWELayout

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