I remember every now and then that in high school, I was the only one on my team who was both black and Muslim, defeating stereotypes not only attached to my race but surprisingly on the status and the alleged oppression of Muslim women. When you picture an Olympic swimmer, a black girl dressed head-to-toe (literally) in a thin wetsuit doesn’t necessarily come to mind. I wasn’t aiming to be the next Simone Manuel, but I certainly did care about being in shape and feeling my best in high school, and a sport like swimming accomplished just that. Fast forward to now, and I still love swimming, and I still enjoy getting my hair wet (under my swim cap, of course) and racing my friends. I recently bought my first burkini this summer and I wore it with confidence, comfort and the feeling of empowerment. It’s my choice, and as much I would love to don a look similar to Kim Kardashian at the beach this past week, I simply choose not to.
France has aimed to take that sort of innocent fun and make it just another way to demonize Muslim women. This past week, they have rolled out new laws banning a specific swimwear that Muslim women wear to the beaches called a “burkini.” Apparently the city of Cannes wants to protect its brand at the expense of its own citizens.
According to the new law, “A beach outfit showing, in an ostentatious manner, a religious affiliation, given that France and religious places are currently the target of terrorist acts, has the nature of creating risks of troubles of public order (mobs, conflicts, etc.) that are necessary to be prevented.” Now, I’ve never heard of a women’s choice of swimwear contributing so deeply to “terrorist acts” or really evoking any highly emotional or violent response; this is a woman most likely just trying to sift through the sand while her kids play in the water nearby. Unlike the burqa ban (of full-face veils), which even I would argue is necessary for security purposes and the assimilation of immigrant populations within European countries, there is nothing intruding about wearing hijab or simply deciding to cover up your body at the beach. Covering up doesn’t correlate with terrorism as many orthodox Jewish women have similar rules of modesty as Muslim women. There are many Muslim women that buy their swimsuits from orthodox Jewish swimsuit retailers online.
For France to claim that what they are doing to Muslim women is liberating them, I ask this: why has this “liberation” come from laws that Muslim women weren’t given a voice in deciding or at least having input in? Why are there fines? Where are the studies that show that the path towards peace and the eradication of terrorism is stripping women of the clothes they feel most comfortable in?
France is directly playing into what Daesh wants. Sara Silvestri, a professor at City University London who specializes in religion and politics notes, “Al Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State thrive every time Western countries give them ammunition to say that the West is discriminating or stigmatizing Muslims…the effect of these laws is that Muslims feel marginalized and in turn, the feeling of being unwelcome impacts their ability and willingness to integrate into society, can cause withdrawal and lead to engagement with radical groups.” Daesh wants European countries to further demonize and divide Muslims, because resentful Muslims in the West make for great candidates for recruitment. For a country that wants to so desperately promote the image of being better to its women than that of a country in the Middle East, they sure do spend a lot of time telling women what they can and cannot wear, and shaming women and denying their opportunities to an education or job if they refuse to comply. Objectifying women in hopes to further “unify” a nation seems counter-effective and will do nothing to solve the real root of terrorism, but rather exacerbate it.
As an American-Muslim, I have the privilege of hiding behind this idea called Freedom of Religion. I can wake up every day knowing that my religious rights won’t be infringed upon, even though there are plenty of people out there (politicians included) that would wish to do me more harm than good. France should really look to the United States as a template for what freedom of religion truly is.
Nakia Moore is a senior majoring in general business. Her column runs biweekly.
