In times of social tension, politicians often claim they are finding solutions in the name of safety, values, or protecting culture. It is amazing how liberty finds itself on the chopping block when the government pursues such goals. That dynamics is now playing out in Italy. Last week, the Fratelli d'Italia, which is the ruling party in Italy under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, proposed a "cultural separatist" bill in response to growing concerns over Muslim immigrants. Part of this bill includes a public ban on the burqa and niqab. Anyone caught wearing these garments would be fined anywhere from €300-€1,300.
While there are various local jurisdictions throughout Europe with such bans, Italy would become the ninth country in Europe with a nationwide burqa ban. Proponents of these bans claim that they promote safety, liberate women from a form of religious oppression, and encourage integration. To be clear, I think Europe generally has had a major issue when it comes to integrating its Muslim immigrants.
I first expressed my concerns in 2015. A lack of integration of Muslim immigrants was also a takeaway from my 2023 trip to Sweden. As I brought up earlier this year while criticizing the "it is Islamophobic to criticize Islam" argument, the influx of Muslim immigrants in Europe is importing oppressive and authoritarian practices and tendencies to the Western world. It is notable enough that I even question some of my views on immigration, at least contextually as they pertain to what is going on in Europe. That topic deserves its own discussion because I would need to think of how immigration in the U.S. is different from Europe. What I will say is that in spite of my considerable worries about Muslim immigrants not integrating into mainstream European society, a burqa ban is not the solution.
I already have objections based on how this ban erodes freedom. A TikTok ban in the U.S. was based on "protecting values" or "security." A burqa ban uses similar justifications while giving the state a deeply concerning power over one's body and what one can wear. Unless you can prove a direct harm from a fashion choice, a burqa ban is a considerable violation of bodily autonomy. If a government can tell people what they can wear in the name of security or cultural cohesion, what else can the government dictate?
At the heart of a liberal and free society is the principle that individuals have the right to live in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs, even if those beliefs are not share by the majority or are uncomfortable. Without that freedom, I would not be able to freely practice Judaism. Article 9 of European Convention on Human Rights is supposed to protect this right, even in spite of the European Court of Human Rights upholding such bans.
Like lockdowns, burqa bans show how governments respond to fear by restricting freedom rather than trusting individuals. All a burqa ban does is set the precedent that individual expression and religious identity can be quashed by majoritarian discomfort. By viewing clothing as a threat, Italy risks the problem of eroding the democratic pluralism it claims to defend.
I find such a ban to be problematic more than on terms of freedom of expression, bodily autonomy, or freedom of religion. I have criticized bans over the years, showing that government uses bans as a blunt instrument that are prone to backfiring. This was the case with the gas stove ban when it restricted choice while not solving anything of substance. Burqa bans also do not solve anything of substance, particularly when it comes to whether they increase integration.
One study from Cambridge University (Paul, 2024) covering French and Belgian bans indicates that "A law or regulation that prohibits or governs the wearing of Islamic veils in the public sphere, pressures pious Muslim women (that is, those who habitually wear veils in public) to stay home and to avoid public places." This study also found that a majority of women interviewed reduced their outdoor activities and made them feel like they were living in a jail. Even if some women are pressured into veiling, the solution is not to punish them by further isolating them from public life with a burqa ban. That doubles down on their marginalization.
Another study from Stanford University (Fouka and Abdelgadir, 2020) covered the 2004 France headscarf ban in public schools. The ban does only cover schools, but it does show the backfiring effect, which resulted in discrimination both from non-Muslim peers and Muslim community members who thought the girls were selling out. Muslim girls were shown to have lower rates of completing secondary education and were more likely to repeat courses.
Then there is a study from the Open Society Foundations interviewing 35 Muslim women showing that a full veil ban resulted in increased mental health issues, isolation, disruption in family life, and avoidance of health services. While much of the evidence of these bans are qualitative in nature and limited in sample size, we are still able to get valuable insight into how these bans directly and negatively affect those most impacted by these bans. The problem with burqa bans is that they result in more alienation than they do assimilation.
A burqa could represent illiberalism because it sends the message that women should not be seen or that it is a form of systemic subjugation. However, a ban is also an illiberal policy. You cannot fix coercion with another act of coercion. Bans are a broad, coercive, and typically counterproductive policy that disrespects the liberty of individuals to live their own lives. There is no strong evidence that a burqa ban would improve the integration of Muslim immigrants.
Much like Trump making English an official language, age verification laws, or banning flag burning, a burqa ban is another form of right-wing virtue signaling. It is a costume change masquerading as a cultural fix because it is more concerned with optics than actual outcomes. The main question here is how do we maintain an open, liberal society that welcomes immigrants without becoming illiberal ourselves?
A few suggestions come to mind. Provide women confidential support services for those who are in religious or cultural pressure situations. Increase legal and police protection for Muslim women who want to integrate and would otherwise face abuse or intimidation. Improve access to education and employment choice, both of which are shown to improve autonomous choice and independence of women. Prosecute the explicitly coercive acts, such as forced marriage and honor violence. Support community outreach and mentorship to break the segregation without banning cultural expression, much like the Migrant Women Mentoring Programme focuses on doing. Provide better training for instructors so they can help migrants learn basic civic, cultural and language skills.
If your argument is that women are being coerced into wearing the burqa, empowering women with the skills to make their own choices is far more effective than banning clothing. Cultural integration needs to come from a place of education, dialogue, and leadership. Part of that includes criticizing Islamist ideology and influences, as well as rejecting Sharia-based legal frameworks to influence secular law. If attempting cultural integration comes from force, like we have seen in France, all it is going to do is isolate Muslims and increase resentment from Muslims about mainstream society. Criminalizing someone's fashion choices is not going to fix these multifaceted cultural issues, but they will erode freedom in an illiberal fashion in the meantime.
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