uncovering the French headscarf debate
- Categories
- Book/Boek
- Creator
- Winter, Bronwyn
- Publish Year
- 2008
- Shelfmark
- FR 8 2008
- Thesaurus
- hoofddoeken, islam, moslima's, terrorisme, Frankrijk, 20e eeuw, 21e eeuw
- Description
- The hijab is arguably the most discussed item of women's clothing today. It has become the primary global symbol of female Muslim identity for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, Nowhere has the debate been more complex than in France. In this book the author provides a riveting account of the controversial 2004 French law to ban Islamic headscarves and other religious signs from public schools. While much has been written on the subject, Winter offers a feminist perspective, carefully delineating its political and cultural aspects. Drawing on both scholarly literature and popular commentary, she examines the headscarf debate from its inception in 1989 through fluctuations in its intensity in public consciousness over the 1990s to its surging significance in the wake of 9/11 and the consequent shift in global politics. Winter argues that the issue must be understood within the specific historical and cultural context of France and through a feminist lens, since gender is fundamental to the debate about veiling .