The Debate over Muslim Women’s Wardrobe in the West
By A.K. Enamul Haque, PhD

With Philip Shaw M.Sc.
The recent wave of controversy over wearing of veils by Muslim women in Europe is quite interesting to me.  I am not sure what they are talking about!  There are a few terms used in Muslim world to refer to women’s dress codes.  These are: Hijab, Burqah, Niqab, Jilbab, Chador, Burqini, etc.  Each one of them is considered as a dress for Muslim women and they are not same.  There are a variety of dresses the women wear in various parts of the Muslim world.  Given these varieties of dresses, I am not sure as of today which one is creating all the controversy?  So far my knowledge goes, the controversy started in France when a French white Muslim women wearing burqini entered in a public swimming pool and when she was asked by the pool staff to wear “proper” swim-suit.
Later on several individuals picked up the issue including the Sarkozy government who is now considering a ban on the veil.  The problem is I am not sure which one is the veil?  Which one are they trying to ban?  Ireland has, I believe, recently banned face veil – niqab in public places.  Switzerland has recently banned construction of minaret in Muslim mosques.
All these measures are clearly a sign of restlessness in the western society which I thought have had risen above the values of the past centuries.  I remember, at Guelph, the Muslim students used to gather at the Chapel on Fridays to perform Jummah prayer.  I remember writing this to home and explaining the greatness of western values – the tolerance, whereas in Muslim world religious leaders often talk about tolerance as a great virtue but the society is yet to adopt it in all spheres of their life.
Now the banning of dresses not fit to a society is not uncommon.  India has banned wearing the bikini in public places, many western societies have banned topless dresses for women in public places, and many Muslim societies have banned wearing of western dresses in public places.  All these are in the name of protecting the culture and values of each of the society.  Rarely it was used against any specific religious groups in any country.  This time it is an exception.
Many other cultures in the world also use covering of dresses by women not to speak of the dresses of the Nuns in catholic churches. No country has ever banned this – even in a Muslim country.  Mind it, I am not saying “Islamic dress” to any of the above dresses.  To me the dress is always cultural and people used their cultural values to ensure that it also fits within the religious codes.  In fact, if you look at the Muslim dresses of even men and women around the world, you will find a significant difference among them.  In Bangladesh, for example, you will find a variety of dresses for women.  In fact, the dress my wife chooses to wear is not the same my sister-in-law prefers to wear or my mother prefers to wear.   None of us ever are bothered about it neither we wanted anyone to explain the differences.  Last week, a High Court bench in Dhaka ordered that women are free to choose their dresses and none shall be forced to wear any specific dress (of course, they did not mean that women in Bangladesh are now allowed to wear a bikini in public!).  They were referring to a case related to wearing of burqah in a public place.
The French interpretation for imposition of the ban is to promote French values and culture in France.  I am not sure what does it mean.  Little that I know about culture I understand that it is dynamic – ever changing and always is moving forward.  It cannot be dictated by politicians and by courts.  The more politicians and courts gets involved in it, it is likely to become messy.  It cannot be held constant by laws either.  The Taliban failed, and of course, the French government will fail too.  Hopefully, you all understand the synonyms between the Taliban’s policy on dress code and the current debate in western world about dress codes.  I end this with the following picture of a billboard, which shows how Muslim men and women should dress up in public places during Taliban era.  Have a look at it and then think through the debate on dresses in the West and a new French billboard in Paris!

In the West, It’s About the Perception of Equality
By Philip Shaw M.Sc.

I am unique among my friends and colleagues here in Canada.  I am a farmer in southwestern Ontario Canada.  There is dirt firmly embedded underneath my fingernails.  My days are spent on country roads bereft any population.  Some days are spent without even uttering a word simply because I don’t see anybody.  For most Canadian farmers that is somewhat typical.  Most of our friends are people in our immediate area or our province.

I’m different in a lot of ways just because of my professional obligations as an agricultural economist and writer.  However one thing that separates me from many Canadians is my friendship with many Muslims around the world.  It just so happens that I know a lot of Muslim women in Bangladesh and other places.  So when I see the debate about Muslim women wearing the veil in Western society sometimes I cringe.  If people in Western society would spend time with Muslim women, they might find out how strong they are both in stature and with their opinions.

Enamul openly questions why the veil is so reviled in some Western societies.  I can understand where he is coming from because of his environment.  Women surround him in his family as well as his students.  They are all fashion conscious and dress in the typical styles within the country.  However, when it comes to the veil in Western society it’s not about any of that.  The big problem with women wearing the veil in Western society is about the western values of equality when it comes to women.  In short, men on women equate the veil on Muslim women in Western society with abuse.  It is a symbol so uncommon that the use of the veil can only be construed as a symbol of inequality among the sexes.

In Western society I’m being charitable with that.  In Canada I am embarrassed as a Canadian because the province of Quebec recently enacted a law to ban Muslim women from receiving or delivering public services while wearing a niqab.  Our Prime Minister and the opposition leaders of Canada had joined in supporting that ban.  As a Canadian I’m embarrassed because in this country everybody is welcome to live as they want based on our charter of rights and freedoms.

It must also be said that Western societies xenophobic fixation on women with the veil is based on prejudice.  In Canada it is that way but is not as bad as it is in France, Australia and other places. When you take into account the overt prejudices against Muslims in Western society post-9/11, the veil has become more of a symbol of oppression.  In many ways it brings out the very worst stereotypes about the treatment of Muslim women in places like rural Pakistan and rural Afghanistan.

In other words, there is no room for Muslim women wearing the veil in countries where sexual orientation is wide open and women’s liberation has more to do with sexual choice and sexual freedom is the norm.  I don’t believe that.  However, the entrenched feminist Western styled “women’s agenda” which has been part of liberal culture for over 50 years in countries like the United States, Canada and those of Western Europe never took into account Muslim women wearing the niqab.   When these women show up in western grocery stores or other places, they are targets for abuse and it is not right.

In Western society there is a common buzz phrase in business which says “sex sells”.   What this has meant over the last 50 years in Western society is female exploitation as in more sex and more skin sells more products.  There are millions of examples in our Western cultural discourse.  I face them all the time.  It has become normal.  At the same time when I travel in Muslim lands, it’s not there or at least it’s not public.  It is what it is.

So the mixing of the veil in Western culture has been toxic.  It is certainly exasperated by daily media feeds out of places like Afghanistan or any other Muslim country where all we see are men on the streets. This has been exasperated by sensational examples of Muslim girls who would have tried to break free of their cultural norms being abused by their own families in some Western societies.  There is nothing right about it.

So you can see by both our commentaries the differences between our societies when it comes to Muslim women wearing the veil.  On one side of the divide it is a cultural and fashion statement and on the other it is a symbol of inequality and abuse.  Can the two sides coexist in Western culture and society?  I think so, however, coming together across that divide will be very difficult.