The Parti Quebecois recently proposed a controversial “charter of Quebec values” that would ban public-sector employees from wearing religious symbols such as hijabs, burkas, turbans, kippahs and other items. Hearing about this charter got me thinking about fashion similar to religious customs, head/face coverings in particular.
A law similar to this charter was passed in France in 2004. The law banned religious symbols from all government-operated institutions. I found this quite interesting, because Paris is arguable the Fashion capital of the world. Therefore I would assume that France as a whole would be more accepting of self expression through ones choice in dress. Unfortunately it's quite to the contrary.
The following are just a few photographs of various head-covering fashions I have seen through the internet.
I think that wearing a piece of clothing that covers your face is a very interesting choice in dress, whether religious or not. It creates a sort of anonymity that I find intriguing. In many societies around the world, your face plays a huge part in how people perceive you. The face conveys emotion and attitude. It's on official identity documents. It essential in many ways. To take your face out of the equation gives people less they can connect to. It forces people to find other ways to understand you as a person. Not being able to see someones face in it's entirety can make some people very uncomfortable.
But why should it matter if someones face is visible or not? Does it affect them as a person and their ability to function as a productive member of society? The answer is of course not. Whether you are wearing a head-covering piece of clothing for a religious purpose or experimenting with an innovative style, it shouldn't affect how you are treated in society.
-SFH
I couldn't agree more - whether for fashion or religious reasons everyone should have the right to dress how they like! I am surprised that they have a similar law in France, especially considering the historical influences of that city. What I find surprising is how readily as a society we condemn the covering of the face, but accept when people (especially celebrities) walk around wearing next to nothing. Shouldn't it be best as a society to promote modesty over wearing next to nothing at all?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in all aspect of this post. It surprised me that Quebec would have been the province to do this because; like you said, the French are like the fashion gurus of the world and by now shouldn't they have found a billion ways to style a hijab or anything similar to that? There's basically no difference between a hijab and a head-covering.
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