According to the C-SPAN video, the bill will have to pass the French Senate in order to become law. But once it becomes law, people who wear veils in public places, as well as people who force others to wear veils, will be fined.
While listening to the speech of Michele Alliot-Marie, the French Justice Minister, I gained some understandings of why the parliament passed the bill. According to Alliot-Marie, forcing women to wear facial veils means the attack of human dignity, and it contradicts with the constitutional values of France. Wearing veils voluntarily is also banned. Women who volunteer to cover their faces tend to separate themselves from the society, Alliot-Marie said.
Alliot-Marie made herself clear in the speech, but I personally think the debate deserves a more careful consideration. According to her, whether or not wearing veils is done voluntarily, lawbreakers will be fined or even jailed. I agree with the French parliament if people are forced to cover their faces in the public. However, why did they decide to punish people who volunteer to wear veils? If fining people who force others to cover faces is considered attacking one's human dignity, than wouldn't it be the same if wearing veils voluntarily will get penalties?
The question becomes a more serious one when it comes to respecting other cultures and religions. We might not think showing our bodies in the summer by wearing bikinis is a big deal, but in some cultures, especially in the middle-East, girls wearing only bikinis is considered sluts. Same thing with the veils. We might think this tradition of wearing veils is out-dated, but from the perspective of the middle-East cultures, it might have other meanings.
It reminds me of a conversation I had with my friends from Dubai a few years ago. We were talking about if girls would be happy if they heard people complimenting their physical beauty. I said I would be definitely happy if someone told me I'm pretty. However, right after I said so, all my friends had this weird look on their faces. I asked them why, and one of them asked me, "Imagine you were a man, would you be happy if someone told you your wife is pretty?" I said yes, but they all looked at me as if I was crazy.
Many people might think my friends are the crazy ones, but I understand it's just depends on which perspective you take. French parliament think wearing veils, even if it's done voluntarily, is an attack of human dignity; Middle-Easterners think girls who wear bikinis are all sluts. Americans eat beef everyday, but the Hinduism believers treat cows as the most noble animal. There are too many examples out there that tell us we cannot judge one's behavior based on our own culture and beliefs.
So, who will be affected if the bill is passed? As everyone can think of, the Muslim women. However, I do know some other people who don't believe in Allah but will still be affected: Asian women like my mom who believes pale skin makes a woman pretty.
She always try to cover her whole face by preventing getting tan, and I told her this when we were enjoying the sunshine at the beach this summer: "Mom, if we were in France, you will be taken to the police department already."
To watch the C-SPAN video of this speech, please go to
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/295270-1
