Women have rarely found representation in institutions that lay down laws which directly affect them. Whether it’s a decision as big as banning abortion or something that seems as trivial as disallowing them to wear certain items of clothing, they have been marginalized while men sitting in the hall of power call the shots. The most recent such case stems from the burkini ban recently constituted in France.
This sketch by Khalid Wad Albaih, shared on social media by journalist Nadeem Farooq Paracha, succinctly explains the problem.
FEMINISTCORNER
How women bear the brunt of political policies.
Women have rarely found representation in institutions that lay down laws which directly affect them. Whether it’s a decision as big as banning abortion or something that seems as trivial as disallowing them to wear certain items of clothing, they have been marginalized while men sitting in the hall of power call the shots. The most recent such case stems from the burkini ban recently constituted in France.
While the burkini ban has luckily met resistance from all quarters and sparked a debate about the increasing Islamophobia and its manifestation, the fact of the matter is that women are targeted first in any conflict. Whether we’re being asked to cover up or shed the extra layers just happens to be two sides of the same coin.
The issue isn’t just that Muslim women are being targeted for choosing to cover up at the beach, where most generally feel comfortable enough to strip down to the basics; it also falls under the realm of policing women and their bodies - an issue that is by no means new. It is also no different from the Taliban’s ban in Afghanistan that required women to drape themselves in diaphanous black wraps or Iran’s insistence on enforcing the headscarves for women.
The burkini ban is no different from secular Turkey’s law that tried banning airhostesses from wearing brightly coloured lipsticks while working on the national carrier, Turkish Airlines. It is no different from Trump calling for women who’ve undergone an abortion to be punished for choosing whether they want to bear and child or not. It is no different from a fight breaking out between two men in a mall in Saudi Arabia where one accused the other’s wife of seducing him with her eyes (the only body part uncovered) and asking him to reprimand her over her misconduct.
Part of the reason why there’s a furor over the burkini ban is because it’s coming from the West, the land of the liberals, and the home of the progressive. Feminists, who’ve fought tooth and nail to disassociate skirt lengths with promiscuity, now face themselves at an unusual juncture where they’ve been asked to call out a ban that is discriminating against women opting not to expose. The context might have changed but it turns out the core issue still remains the same.
While the ban is being contested in court, in France, the contention remains over discrimination against Muslims and the unfair marginalization of those adhering to its religious principles based on acts of terror being carried out and the ensuing propaganda. However, the fact of the matter remains, even while the Muslims are being targeted, the women are the first battle-line to face the offensive.
We hope that the burkini ban is overturned, not just because it feeds into the paranoia and fear that’s gripped Europe but also because the judgement rolls back hard-fought freedom of choice that women have gained over the years.
