The ban on the niqaab in France has divided opinion; will the ban affect British Muslims living in the UK?
The hot topic of the summer has been the French ban on the niqaab. Although the niqaab issue has been often thrown across between the media and politicians, a bill has been passed by the French government and has brought the issue up in another glossy, dramatised soap opera style angle. The core of the matter remains the same but the topic is raw and the French seem to be rubbing salt into the wounds of Muslim women all over the country. For many of us, the ban was something imminent it was only a matter of time before such provisions were implemented. After all article one of the French constitution highlights, ‘France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic.’ Therefore France is a country proud of its secularism and the niqaab was simply a barrier – both literally and symbolically to the French values. However only days after the ban was revealed to the public, Syria also banned the niqaab from universities. This, for some, can be seen as more of a shock than France’s controversial decision. It seems that there has been a domino effect regarding the niqaab issue and will it seep into our own British laws?

The French ban only actually affects 2000 of the millions of Muslims in France. Therefore it is only going to potentially change the lives of a few women. For some the question is – have Muslims have been singled out by this new ban?. The ban does not specifically attack the Muslims and as pointed out by Ms Alliot-Marie the bill was not aimed at “stigmatising or singling out a religion.” Therefore the bill itself has not attacked Islam as such. However this does not mean that political leaders have not had their fair share of comments about the hot topic. Ms Alliot-Marie felt that these women needed to be “liberated” and so an appropriate bill had to be enforced. If the French are worried about women having no choice about wearing the niqaab, it seems odd: would they ever ban the mini skirt?

However another large factor for the bill is being pushed forward was that of security reasons. Ever since the 9/11 and the 7/7 attacks, the security factor has been an even more important drive for new legislation. In the name of security police have the power to stop and search individuals – our rights are violated in these circumstances. In the House of Lords case Begum v Denbigh High School [2006] the right to freely express ones religion was rejected. Therefore it is important to remember that the right to express religion freely is not an absolute right. Instead these rights are abstract and can be challenged at any time.
So as countries all over Europe are battling with the issue of niqaab it is time Britain asked itself where it stands in this controversial topic.

According to Yougov 67% of people would like to see the niqaab ban applied in Britain. The plausibility of the statistic is irrelevant but for the members of the public who wish to see the ban into force, have they forgotten the British motto of ‘let and let live.’ This motto highlights what “Britishness” is all about: diversity, multi ethnicity and the freedom of rights. The niqaab may be against secularism but the ban itself is against the idea of “Britishness”. So will the ban affect British Muslims living in the UK? Some may argue that it already has. For many Muslims they are a part of a global network, all connected with each other and sharing the same pain. Therefore the pain felt by Muslim women in France and Syria will be felt by women in Britain thousands of miles apart from each other.