Veil-less France

When France formally banned the (generic) wearing of veils in public last week, it knew what reactions to expect. For openers, broad popularity. Most French citizens don’t wear veils in public. More to the point, many of the veil-less see the new law as a necessary step to preserve French culture and counter perceived separatist tendencies among Muslims. And some undoubtedly see themselves fighting the good fight for ostensibly subjugated women.

Those who do feature the veiled look, and it’s about 2,000 niqab-wearing Muslim women, see the ban as a cultural and religious affront.  As do many of the country’s 5 million Muslims. As do many non-French, non-Muslims who perceive anti-immigrant sentiment as the driving force.

All of which can obscure the bottom line. It’s really about security. It’s about the civilizational prism of those with a martyr complex. It’s about zero-sum, West-targeting, jihadist geopolitics that can transcend any border. Terrorists now come in both genders. They dress appropriate to the task. Burqas, alas, could be more than a cultural and religious statement.

But this cuts both ways. I’ve traveled to the Middle East. American women in my company had to accommodate to prevailing cultural norms. Yes, it was unflattering. No, they didn’t feel quite equal. But when in Rome.

Or Paris.

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