Defiance as French ban on veil enforced
Source: Agencies |
April 12, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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FRANCE'S new ban on Islamic face veils was met with a burst of defiance yesterday, as several women appeared veiled in front of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral and two were detained for taking part in an unauthorized protest.
France yesterday became the world's first country to ban the veils anywhere in public, from outdoor marketplaces to the sidewalks and boutiques of the Champs-Elysees.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy set the wheels in motion for the ban nearly two years ago, saying the veils imprison women and contradict this secular nation's values of dignity and equality. The ban enjoyed wide public support when it was approved by parliament last year.
Though only a very small minority of France's at least 5 million Muslims wear the veil, many Muslims see the ban as a stigma against the country's No. 2 religion.
About a dozen people, including three women wearing niqab veils with just a slit for the eyes, staged a protest in front of Notre Dame yesterday, saying the ban is an affront to their freedom of expression and religion.
One of the veiled women was seen taken away in a police van. A police officer on the site said that she was detained because the protest was not authorized and the woman refused to disperse when police asked her to.
The Paris police administration said another woman was also detained for taking part in the unauthorized demonstration.
It was unclear whether they were fined for wearing a veil. The law says veiled women risk a 150-euro (US$215) fine or special citizenship classes, though not jail.
Authorities estimate at most 2,000 women in France wear the outlawed veils. France has the largest Muslim population in western Europe. Many Muslims also felt stigmatized by a 2004 law that banned Islamic headscarves in classrooms.
France yesterday became the world's first country to ban the veils anywhere in public, from outdoor marketplaces to the sidewalks and boutiques of the Champs-Elysees.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy set the wheels in motion for the ban nearly two years ago, saying the veils imprison women and contradict this secular nation's values of dignity and equality. The ban enjoyed wide public support when it was approved by parliament last year.
Though only a very small minority of France's at least 5 million Muslims wear the veil, many Muslims see the ban as a stigma against the country's No. 2 religion.
About a dozen people, including three women wearing niqab veils with just a slit for the eyes, staged a protest in front of Notre Dame yesterday, saying the ban is an affront to their freedom of expression and religion.
One of the veiled women was seen taken away in a police van. A police officer on the site said that she was detained because the protest was not authorized and the woman refused to disperse when police asked her to.
The Paris police administration said another woman was also detained for taking part in the unauthorized demonstration.
It was unclear whether they were fined for wearing a veil. The law says veiled women risk a 150-euro (US$215) fine or special citizenship classes, though not jail.
Authorities estimate at most 2,000 women in France wear the outlawed veils. France has the largest Muslim population in western Europe. Many Muslims also felt stigmatized by a 2004 law that banned Islamic headscarves in classrooms.
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