My amazing parents have given me a three-week trip to the UK for my graduation. Yes, my parents are pretty much the best people I know. Being that this is the first time I will be traveling without parental supervision and with my good friends, I thought I would make the most of it. Due to limited funds (seriously Bint Battuta, how do you do it?!) we will only be able to visit countries in the United Kingdom and perhaps one other.
My first thought was LET'S DO FRANCE. I have wanted to visit Paris ever since French class in high school. Eat fresh baguettes, visit the Louvre and of course the Eiffel Tower. And let's not forget the FASHION!
Then I paused...as a Muslim, a visible minority and a hijabi, I wondered if it would be safe for me to visit France. As you may or may not know France banned the niqab (the veil that covers the face, leaving only the eyes visible), and as of April 2011 this law came into effect. If a woman wears the niqab she is denied access to museums and other establishments, fined if seen in any public place and required to take citizenship classes - classes which teach students about gender equality and other French values.
"How can you defend liberty by denying liberties?" Not entirely sure where I read that, but I do know that it nicely captures the stupidity of this law.
And so, back to my concern. Should I go to France? Would it be safe? On the one hand I would like to boycott France altogether. If they don't want to give my sisters in Islam religious freedom, then why should I visit their country and spend my (parents') hard-earned money?
However, this could be precisely what 'they' want. When I was researching (read: Googling) this topic I came across an extremely hateful website. I won't post the link because I don't want this disgusting website to get any more traffic than it deserves. The author states that getting Muslims out of Europe by making them feel unwelcome and unsafe is exactly the point of laws like this. 'That's exactly how we want them to feel' writes the author.
Ultimately, who suffers if I don't go to France? Will it be me, denying myself an experience that I may never have the chance at again, or will it be France, with their 80 million or so tourists a year? I realize that thinking this way might be selfish, but I'd also like to think that I will be standing in support of my fellow Muslimas in France, who are fighting the good fight. I will go to France, wear my hijab proudly and stomp around the Louvre like I own the place. And I will speak my mangled Frenglish because ain't nobody gonna tell me where I can or cannot go! ...except maybe my parents.
You go, girls!
