At first thought this ban seems ridiculous and that there are many anti-muslim feelings throughout France...but if you look at all the facts, I can see their reasoning behind wanting this law. Supporters of this law make their intentions clear. They believe that this law helps muslim women to get out from behind the veils and actively participate in their society. There is a $40,000 fine for any individual forcing a woman to wear the religious veils. "In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity." said former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009, before the law was official. People against this law make very valid points as well. They believe that this ban "has had exactly the opposite effect that was intended: oppressing observant Muslim women by, in effect, forcing them to stay close to home." These women cannot go out in public wearing the Muslim veils.
What do I think?
I really think it's awful. Some women are Muslim and choose to wear the veils. I understand that sometimes they are forced to wear them, and I agree with the $40,000 fine against any individual who forces women to wear them, but government should NOT be able to dictate what is okay for women to wear. Freedom of expression. People should be allowed to wear what they want without being fined or judged. I see what France's intentions were for the ban, but I don't, under ANY circumstances, agree with the outcomes.
