Sarkozy and the Shameful Hypocritical Attack on Muslim Women in France.

Thanks to the blogger who reposted a previous article on the threat imposed upon Muslim women who wear the veil in France. What was a threat last year became a reality for these women, apparently a mere 2000 , who wear the veil in France.

This week police arrested 61 demonstrators, 16 of them women, at a protest against this absurd, hypocritical legislation that is damaging to women everywhere. This legislation is not just an attack on the religious and cultural rights of those few Muslim women who wear the veil but is by implication one more attack on women.

Many angles have been used to justify this law and not one them even passes muster as common sense. While I am not a believer in the virtue, value or wisdom of common sense ( it almost always emerges out of prevailing ideology and reinforces existing power relations rather than critical thinking), this one takes the cake when it comes to stupidity, institutionalized racism and sexism. As I stated in the previous blog, once again war is being waged and the battlefield is women's bodies.

Personally I hate the idea of women's minds and bodies being dictated to and controlled individually or collectively on the basis of religion ,culture or for political and economic reasons. It is even worse when women "choose" norms that restrict their freedoms . The ideology of "choice" that does not emerge from critical analysis but is lock, stock and barrel a result of ideologies that support and promote inequalites is not just annoying and frustrating but inherently a lie. Choice is always immersed in prevailing economic, political, religious and cultural norms and institutions. The argument would take on a different dimension completely if men and women all had to wear a veil that covers their faces.

But we do know that the ban on the veil has absolutely nothing to do with "liberating" Muslim women. Only Muslim women can make that "choice." The fact that I wish fervently that all women ,worldwide would be able to cast off every single legal, societal and cultural restriction that affects our bodies and our minds , that prohibit our right to choose the shape, the comfort and the physical freedom of our bodies , is just that , wishful thinking , until we collectively speak out against all forms of political, religious, cultural oppression played out on our bodies.

In all societies, feudal, semi-feudal and advanced capitalist women's bodies are victimized. Fashion and clothing restrictions are just one of the many ways. We have to dig deep and ask ourselves why?

Whether it is the use of corsets that distorted and manipulated our bodies , squeezing and displacing our internal organs , all for the purpose of having a "shape" that was appealing to the opposite sex, meaning enhancing our opportunities to marry and have children-be "chosen" in centuries past to the waste of our money and valuable time , or wearing uncomfortable shoes that deform our feet and over time our spinal columns .

Why is it that we "buy" the ridiculous notion that high heels make our legs more appealing. The very same legs that in previous centuries had to be hidden, when the exposure of an ankle was enough to make men tremble. The very same legs that we were unable to cross in public and must cross only at the ankle if we were "ladies." And the opposite of lady was of course a slut and a harlot, destined to be cast out ultimately marriage and family and social and economic status.

Why is it that our breasts , whose sole purpose is to feed infants are depending on the time , manipulated and shaped in a manner in many cases uncomfortably in order to become objects of lust rather than what they are . And why even today must women have to protest to be able to breast feed their babies in public. Fear that provocative and dangerous breast folks!!

How long did it take for women to have the freedom to wear pants in public. Centuries that is how long!

Well the French lawmakers will of course say the face is different- that the state has the right to enforce facial recognition.

What a bogus argument - lifting the veil for seconds - in the most extreme circumstances , which most women, not just Muslim women would rarely encounter - in no sane world would justify a complete ban on the right to adhere to religious and cultural norms.

I have to admit that the argument that the veil and clothing that hides our bodies are in fact liberating-does hold an appeal.

No matter what age - it must feel really good to know that our bodies are not being leered at, laughed at , judged and evaluated every waking hour in our homes and publicly.

But what validity lies in the in the argument that men are really just little more than a lustful leering species - and that we need to constantly protect ourselves from their gaze , their comments and potential assault. Where is the validity that only our husbands are allowed to see certain parts of our bodies-who are these husbands if this is the case- they are are jailers-socially and culturally entitled to dictate to us -our very freedom, own our bodies and choose how we display them. That relegates us all to the purely natural world where choice does not exist. Men bad-women as victims forced to accommodate and change!? What a world view that is- I guess we should all just head to the hills women.

Are the lawmakers in France and soon in Belgium and the Netherlands soon going to force Orthodox Jewish women to take off their wigs in public , or nuns to remove their veils and crosses. If that is the case why do they not go after the fashion runways where women no bigger than sticks , sway and strut their bodies , forced into eating disorders and long term ill health after their bodies are no longer marketable -please folks - let us all wake up and see this legislation for what it is.

It is hypocrisy! Once again under the false banner of religion and custom and the tensions that rage among these ideologies and institutions , battles are being fought once again over and on women's bodies and choices.

What will be accomplished - further anti Muslim tension and hatred, escalated sexism and racism- I guess we all know that that will deflect from the deep problems that exist and haunt us all - imperialistic wars, attacks on ALL working people, poverty, unemployment, homelessness and hunger, - just name it -one thing is for sure, it is not about the VEIL. And once again women are the victims in this war against working people.

This law is oppressive, racist and sexist and places Muslim women in untenable and dangerous circumstances. We must all side with the victims in protest and outrage against this form of victimization by the state of our sisters , fellow workers, mothers and friends who bravely insist on making their own decisions about their own bodies and clothing. They may not be decisions I like - but they are not mine to make. We cannot afford to let our bodies and minds be used in this way anymore.

Solidarity with the brave Muslim women in France who risk their safety to protest .