Really, France?

I have come across a few topics in the news lately that have decidedly gotten under my skin. They're issues that I, for once, feel I competently understand and have strong opinions on. As I have no other medium through which I may express my opinion -- I don't think a note on Facebook carries quite enough credibility for my taste -- I'm going to place it with the rest of my intelligent, academic thoughts. So there will be a couple of blogs like this.

On Tuesday, after six months of hearings, a ban has been recommended by Parliament in France that would prohibit Muslim women from wearing the niqab because Muslim women who wear the niqab were posing an "unacceptable" challenge to French values. The ban would prohibit Muslim women from wearing the niqab in schools, hospitals, government offices and public transport, but they would still be allowed to wear it in other public venues because banning it there would be constitutionally questionable.

France is home to Europe's biggest Mulim minority; there are approximately six million Muslims in France, a country with a total population of almost 65.5 million. Only 1,900 of the six million Muslims wear the niqab, according to the interior ministry. That's .0003 percent of the Muslim population and only .00003 percent of France's population. Why is the government raising such a fuss over a nearly infintessimal group of people?

But wait! you say. If it's such a small group of people, it shouldn't matter because it benefits the overwhelming majority. No, sorry. Every individual has certain basic rights that the majority cannot take away, as evidenced by the "majority rule, minority rights concept." This theory states (emphasis added): Minorities – whether as a result of ethnic background, religious belief, geographic location, income level, or simply as the losers in elections or political debate – enjoy guaranteed basic human rights that no government, and no majority, elected or not, should remove. This is an excerpt from a U.S. Department of State publication, and admittedly U.S. beliefs are not universally recognized as valid, but it is a valid concept in France. As a democracy, France is a country expected to treat these differences in identity, culture, and values as a challenge that can strengthen and enrich them, not as a threat.

Since 1971, the French government has considered the marquis de Lafayette's "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" to hold constitutional values, so it is not ignored when it comes to French lawmaking. The Declaration states almost immediately that man has the right to liberty, and liberty "consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else."

The basis of liberty in France being established, it is evident that wearing a niqab presents no harm to anyone else. Others may not agree with the women who wear one, but they are not being hurt by seeing it. It is a violation of their natural rights to be told by the government what they may or not wear.

Better yet, why is the government targeting specifically Muslim women? The government already approved a ban on headscarves in school a couple years ago. France is a strictly secular society, yes, but that shouldn't mean it can dictate what people wear, even if one's clothing choice is based on one's religion. If the government is trying to eliminate conspicuously religious apparel from everything run by the state, I hope it's making sure to include cross and Star of David necklaces and target those Christians who believe in wearing modest-length skirts as part of their religion, as well.