Joan Wallach Scott's The Politics Of The Veil

In a patriarchal society, women’s issues will always be a topic of debate. In Joan Wallach Scott’s book The Politics of the Veil, she questions why it is that the veil specifically has become such a hot-button issue. Scott focuses primarily on France, where in 2004, the government banned “conspicuous signs” of religions affiliation in public school. Although this law affected other religious minorities, it was clear the primary target of the legislation was muslim girls that veiled. Why has the veil become the target of Western intervention; why have European countries like France taken steps to rid themselves of non-western aspects and practices, particularly the veil; and what do governments like those in France hope to accomplish by implementing

For example, when middle eastern countries were colonized, the veil became a symbol of defiance; religious and non-religious women alike, joined together to outwardly show their opposition not only to colonization, but also to western culture by veiling. When veiled Arab women from places like North Africa began immigrating to countries like France, the veil became an obvious and easy way to distinguish those where were not “French”/were not “French enough” This non-European practice was viewed as an affront to European culture. The tables were turned; the colonists were slowly becoming the culturally

They have, over hundreds of years, developed their own sense of identities on a very small and crowded continent. As the world becomes more of a cultural and ethnic melting pot, universal senses of national identity become weaker. National identities like those in France that are traditionally based on race, language, and history, are particularly vulnerable to the invasion of “the other.” The French response to this “invasion” has been to been to pass laws, like those seen in 2004, to force “the other” to conform in every way they can, ridding France of non-Western practices. As Scott points out, European countries, particularly ex-colonial powers like France, have a long history of institutionalized racism and islamaphoia, which fuels the fire of ignorance. Scott rightly points out that one of the contributing factors in the crackdown agains veiling is the rise of Islam in the largely secular state of France. One could argue that racism and islamaphobia are not the primary reasons for the French targeting non-Western practices, but they certainly play a significant role. In my opinion, the veil is simply the first domino to fall in wave of practices that will be targeted in European countries as tensions continue to grow between “true Europeans,” and “the other.” With recent events like the massacre in Paris, of which ISIS has claimed responsibility, innocent French