Should France ban the veil - Essay Example

The act of covering the face by all Muslim women was banned by the French Senate and the National assembly during the same year. People within France and all over the world have started protesting against this act of the French government. In the region of France a total of 82% of the population is supporting the ban, while a 17% and those who are in favor of such a ban form a majority throughout the European Nations (Pew Research Center 1). A heavy debate between the supporters and opposition of banning of veil in France has started taking place.

Those who are in favor of such a ban state that French government is disrespecting the freedom of individuals in regards of deciding what they should wear and what they should not. However, ban on the full-faced veil should be removed because such an action disregards an individual’s freedom. The French government took the measure of banning niqab because they believed that niqab was a sign of oppression which is against the norms of the French society. French levied a ban on the veil is because the veil is believed to be a sign of oppression that is being carried out by the male society to over the females of the Muslim society.

Sciolino states that the French are connecting the veil to the burqa that has been used in Afghanistan “by Taliban to oppress the women in their own society” (Sciolino 140). This means that the French government believes that the Muslim women are forced to wear the veil by their male relatives to oppress their right of deciding their own clothes. This even means that the French believe that by banning the veil they are giving the female Muslims the right to decide what they want to wear. Another reason due to which the French have banned the veil within their nation is that they believe that veil is against their cultural norms.

Sciolino states that French culture promotes “the meeting of eyes between two individuals in order to start a conversation” (Sciolino