Liberté, égalité, fraternité?

[yami_no_hoshi]

French Senate bans burka
Law to take effect in 6 months

The Associated Press

The French Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for a bill banning the burka-style Islamic veil everywhere from post offices to streets, a move that affects only a tiny minority of the country's Muslim women but has significant symbolic repercussions.
The Senate voted

Comments

[sashwizzled]

That's so ridiculous. I can understand asking women to remove it in some limited circumstances/places - but making them? That doesn't give women dignity, it strips the vast majority of the basic human right to wear what the hell they want, and forces a small minority (whom this law is supposedly 'in support of') into remaining permanently in the abusive homes where they're made to wear them.

It's claiming to try so hard to be woman-empowering, and yet it's made a full turn back into misogynism. And it's disgusting.

[erinpuff]

Fuck this bullshit.

[militsa]

This manages to be misogynist, xenophobic and paternalistic all at once. Nice fail!

Maybe I shouldn't be, but I'm actually kind of amazed that this vote was so close to unanimous.

[neev]

Yeah, it's like there's a fail-Olympics going on and no one told us. I guess that's just about a perfect 10.0 for France... Good job at sucking?

[urban_stoop]

Boum, c'est le fail. (Obscure references nobody gets FTW?)

This PISSES ME OFF, and also- I have never heard from anyone who supports this, including my übersmart but überconservative political theory professor whom I usually respect on an intellectual level, even if she's WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING, how there's a difference between forcing women to wear a veil and forcing women not to wear a veil. Because guess what? There isn't one.

[urban_stoop]

Also, back when this was being debated in spring, I got a hilarious email from a friend of mine who works in Paris, and she was all: "The only women in burkas I ever see are rich Saudi wives on shopping trips, so nice job firing up the economy there, Sarko." Snark aside, it is worth noting that burkas/niqabs are not very common, and this is classic scapegoating targeting a tiny, tiny minority. And this is really what the French government spends time and money on? It's not my tax dollars so I probably shouldn't care but ARGH. SO. MUCH. HATE.

[nicole_anell]

Snark aside, it is worth noting that burkas/niqabs are not very common, and this is classic scapegoating targeting a tiny, tiny minority.
Yeah, I was wondering about that. It doesn't really seem like a ~pressing societal issue~ so much as a very small and easy symbolic target. :(

[leelakin]

THIS SO MUCH. :/ Just like politicians in Denmark starting with these shenanigans when a commenter said that there are like 10 people wearing burqas in the country in total. >_>;; Way to empower women and minorities, assholes.

(Also, Boum! C'est le shoc! ...did you learn with Découvertes Etudes Francaises at school? XDD)

[abee]

Can we have a bitchslap at France, please?

[youkiddinright]

Can we not use the term "bitchslap" ?

[abee]

... What term do you suggest?

[youkiddinright]

Slap is not evocative enough alone ?