Under no circumstances can any race impose its cultural hegemony upon another as it is against basic human rights
LARKANA: This refers to the article “To burkini or not burkini” by Aisha Sarwari (September 8). Muslim women bear the brunt of racial discrimination, not only in France but also in other European countries in the name of secularism and integration. It is the women who have to decide what they like to wear. The burkini ban was both discriminatory and divisive. It was a violation of fundamental freedoms and individual rights. In principle, what to wear should be the privilege and choice of the individual. Calling upon a burkini wearer to undress before onlookers at gunpoint was an act of intolerance; the product of right wing climate, which is on the rise in France. The absurdity of the ban can be gauged from the fact that France’s highest administrative court suspended it.
Such an attitude towards Muslim women and inflexible stances regarding the Muslim culture have convinced French Muslims that they are unfairly targeted and the state aims to control their practice of faith. It is disappointing to note that the Deputy Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, has repeatedly referred to the covering of women on the beach, whether in a burkini or large T-shirt, pants or hijab, as “provocation” suggesting a challenge to the French order. This clearly tells that defiance is in the air.
Vanessa Lourenco, the burkini designer, rightly remarked that she had started creating them to give Muslim women a chance to participate in the same activities as the rest of the community. On the one hand, Muslim women are alleged to be under social isolation and confinement; and on the other, when Muslim women are out in the dress they like to wear, they are looked down upon and harassed. Under no circumstances can any race impose its cultural hegemony upon another as it is against basic human rights, not to mention an undemocratic practice.
Nazeer Ahmed Arijo
Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2016.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
