Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Burqa row

France prides itself on being a secular nation with a modern outlook. But French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s remark that the burqa is unwelcome in France because it is a symbol of subservience of women is not secular in nature.

Only if the burqa is made compulsory for Muslim women, it should be condemned. Some Muslim women may find wearing the burqa anachronistic. Some may even view it as a symbol of subservience. But others may find nothing wrong in wearing one. Any reform or change should come from within and should not be imposed. All Semitic religions have a concept of ‘hijab.’ The cloak worn by a Catholic nun along with the headscarf is similar to the burqa.

Irfan Shamim,

New Delhi

Mr. Sarkozy has quoted neither any scholar of Islamic studies nor ascertained the views of burqa-clad Muslim women to support his view that the burqa is a symbol of women’s subservience. Muslim women have not complained that their rights have been curtailed. In fact, they feel assured that their place as practised in Islam provides them complete protection.

Mr. Sarkozy should concentrate on liberating French women caught in the web of abstract freedom rather than bothering about ending the imaginary subjugation of Muslim women.

M.A. Hakeem,

Hyderabad

The debate surrounding Mr. Sarkozy’s statement has turned into a battle between Islam and the West. The President has pointed to the drawbacks of wearing a burqa and the people who are opposing him are trying hard to prove its advantages. The question here is not whether wearing a burqa is good or bad. The issue is: is there no space left for individual freedom in a country like France which has assumed the high moral ground on human rights and democracy?

Murtaza Ali Athar,

New Delhi

I feel a religion can be conspicuously proclaimed only through its practices and the attire its followers wear. As long as it is not detrimental to society, a person’s freedom to wear what he or she wants should not be curtailed. Mr. Sarkozy should apologise to the Muslim community for hurting its sentiments.

Ippili Santhosh Kumar,

Srikakulam

The debate on the burqa is not new in France. Only this time, it is more dramatic. What Mr. Sarkozy sees as subservience, American President Barack Obama — who said the Americans are not going to tell people what to wear — sees as the freedom to practise one’s religion. But I feel that the burqa is more of an imposed custom rather than a free expression of religious fervour. A woman may feel she is voluntarily opting for the veil. But it is impossible to disprove it unless there are clear indications that Muslim women are empowered to choose.

Padmini Raghavendra,

Secunderabad

Despite some people turning a blind eye to it in the name of religious freedom, one cannot deny that the burqa is a symbol of subservience. Why do police in Islamic countries continually ‘warn’ women to be attired in a particular manner if it does not matter?

Jimmy Rajkumar,

Chennai

It is not only the French President but several Muslim women activists who argue that the burqa is a symbol of subservience. Many fundamentalist organisations like the Taliban punish their women for not wearing the burqa. Not all women who wear it do so willingly. Since it is based on religious belief, any opposition to it is viewed seriously. Religion is one’s personal matter and it would be helpful if we did not exhibit our faith in public.

V. Pandy,

Tuticorin

The headscarf (hijab) covers a woman’s head whereas a burqa covers her entire body, including her face. President Sarkozy was talking about the burqa, not the hijab. The Holy Koran mentions the hijab, not the burqa, as an integral part of a woman’s attire. The assertion that wearing a burqa does not impede development (Letters, June 25) is not entirely true. A burqa-clad teacher was sacked in the U.K. because the children she taught complained that they did not understand what she was teaching.

M. Riaz Hasan,

Hyderabad

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