Secularism And Feminism Essay

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Secularism and Feminism have significantly effected on Muslims in France in term of identity issue. In this paper, how do Secularism and Feminism impact on Islamic identity of Muslims in France will be discussed. Besides a cause of an opposition to a prohibition of wearing Islamic headscarf among Muslim girls and women will be added, a comparison between the perspective of French feminism and Muslim feminism toward “wearing hijab” is also revealed. Keywords: Secularism, Feminism, Islamic identity, “Hijab” Secularism and Secular society of France Secularism is defined as a separation of church and state (Bilgrami, 2014). In other words, Secularism is one of political theories, which emphasizes on a separation of religion and politics, yet it is important to note that it neither aims to weaken religions nor decline of religious beliefs and practice (Beaufort, Hägg & Schie, 2008). Instead, it aims to maintain a neutrality and equality of different religions with the state (Bilgrami, 2014). France’s society has been a secular republic since the French Revolution in 1789 (Jean-Pierre, 2004). Secularism hence has been playing a major role in French politics including public policy and law (Jones, 2009). As for example, it officially…show more content…
Most of French feminists are supporting a prohibition of Islamic headscarf, because they think monotheistic religions treat women as inferiors. It further symbolizes “the refusal of reciprocity” as Elisabeth Badinter, a French feminist has mentioned in the interview by a Parliamentary panel (Las, 2010). Hence, Islamic headscarf is thus considered as a symbol of women’s oppression (Las, 2010). According to Feminism’s aspects, wearing such a garment also promotes a concept of extremism, that leaves Muslim women no choice but to follow, and symbolizes Islamic Fundamentalism (Wing & Smith,
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