Wiam Wahhab’s Trash-Talking Politics

April 12, 2011 By Sara Yasin

Wiam Wahhab is the leader of the Tawhid Movement in Lebanon. A former MP and journalist, he is also a close ally of Syria. In a rant against Syria’s rival, Saudi Arabia, Wahhab compared Saudi women to “garbage bags,” in reference to the black niqab that is common in the country. Sparking the anger of protesters, Wahhab eventually retracted his statements, clarifying that his comments were not meant to insult the veil, but rather the lack of human rights afforded to women in Saudi Arabia.

While a follower of the Druze sect, Wahhab is still supported by Hezbollah. Therefore, this really isn’t a case of religious hatred as much as it is a case about politics.  Wahhab has a reputation for being an unapologetic advocate for Syria.  Therefore, it is not surprising that within the same speech, he also made attacks on the Wahhabi way of life, which is mostly tied to Saudi Arabia. His comments were in reference to a major anti-Hezbollah rally organised by the March 14th coalition, a pro-Saudi group. Thus, in light of Wahhab’s relationship with Hezbollah and Syria, his comments were not actually a comment on Muslim women, but rather a part of his own political agenda.

On the other side, those opposed to Wahhab used this opportunity to be outraged in support of the right of to wear a veil.  Over 500 Sunni protesters in Tripoli gathered to express their outrage, and many organizations called for him to retract his statements. [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Politics Tagged With: , , , ,

The Republic Lives its Islamophobia Openly: France’s Newest Anti-Niqab Campaign

March 21, 2011 By nicole

In France, they really don’t like any type of head coverings.  After decades of one headscarf affair after another, where generations of young women who wear hijab are forced to stop their education (way to go in liberating women, France), things got serious when France woke up in recent years to the threat of illegal polygamous niqabis and their “creeping Shariah.”

To counter the 367 burqa-clad women (this is a real number, I kid you not) in France in 2009 (which must mean millions in 2015, of course), the French government brought out its big guns with a clear message: no more niqab! This most recent law, passed by the French senate, will go in to effect on April 11th .

The "La Republique se vit à visage découvert" poster.

And in case you still haven’t figured out that covering you head is against Camembert, baguettes, Monet and ALL THAT IS FRENCH, the government has set up a handy communications  campaign  to drive the point home. This campaign is called “La Republique se vit à visage découvert” (or “The Republic is lived openly”- a play on words as “à visage découvert” literally means “an uncovered face”) and besides tens of thousands of posters and flyers (in English and Arabic for travelers), the government has also set up a website to make sure that even the 2.0 generation understands that that this is no ordinary discrimination.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertisements, Culture/Society, Politics Tagged With: , , , ,

Masking the Problem: Afghanistan’s “Niqab” Program

January 11, 2011 By sarahaji

Just when I thought we were past discussing the experiences of Muslim women in dichotomies and distorted imagery, CNN pulls out this gem about Afghanistan’s most talked-about talk show: “Niqab.” “The Mask,” as American media have translated it, features “Afghan women [who] dare to speak out on [the] taboo subject of abuse by husbands.” This time, the women televised are, in fact, masked—half the mask “pale blue, the color [of the burqa] symbolizing the oppression of women; the other half white, representing innocence.” As though this simplistic, dichotomous analysis (which, incidentally, removes all agency from the show’s women) isn’t enough, CNN goes on to write that these women, heretofore silenced (multiple meanings, of course) and concealed (ditto) are “speaking out” at long last, their stories of abuse and torture spilling from loosed-and-liberated lips.

I dramatize, of course, to underscore the absurdity of the reporting. The article, like its contemporaries, toes the line between objecting to the rape and abuse of women and objecting to the customs surrounding marriage more generally. And while the latter is by no stretch ideal, it’s certainly very different from the former, and deserves a more nuanced look than it’s being given here.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Television Tagged With: , , ,
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