Gender Issues and the Hijab/Burqa
Officials in Calgary Allow Hijabs, Saris and Other Religious Clothing at City Pools
Residents of Calgary, Alberta will now be allowed to swim in city pools wearing saris, hijabs and other clothing deemed “religious” in a new policy designed to encourage the participation of ethnic and religious minorities. For safety reasons, saris will be banned from the deep end. The city´s superintendent for aquatics and fitness stated that…
Man Who Hit his Wife who Removed her Headscarf Sentenced to Six Months of Prison
A Marseille man who punched his wife in the face, fracturing her nose, because she removed her headscarf because of the heat was condemned to at least six months in prison. The couple, who live in Lille, France and were married in November 2007, were on holiday in Marseille. The 24 year-old French female victim…
Jewish and Muslim French Women Come Together to Make Pastries
In Paris, Jewish and Muslim French women – the Batisseuses de Paix (a play on words on baking and peace building) continue to meet to make pastries together. They do not allow any talk of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Created in 2002, their aim is “to block the transfer of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into France.” Almost…
Dounia Bouzar claims that to Refuse the Burqa is to Respect Islam
Dounia Bouzar, a French anthropologist who specializes in examining French-born and raised Muslims and former member of the French Council for the Muslim Faith (CFCM), claims that Muslim sects, particularly the conservative Salafists, take advantage of the general ignorance about Islam in France to multiply within families. Bouzar claims that these conservative Muslim groups become…
Moroccan Burqa-Wearing Woman Denied French Citizenship
France has denied citizenship to a veiled Moroccan woman on the grounds that her “radical” practice of Islam is incompatible with French values, particularly with mixité (the equality of the sexes). Le Monde daily newspaper claims it was the first time a Muslim applicant has been rejected because of his/her personal religious practice, particularly her…