The Hindu Chronicle

French Minister speaks truth about veil-wearing women

France’s Minister for Women’s Rights Laurence Rossignol deserves plaudits for comparing Muslim headscarf- and veil-wearing women to “negroes who accepted slavery.” For, it calls for tons of courage and nerve to speak the truth in an age in which political correctness and multiculturalism have unleashed a reign of terrifying mendacity.

While condemning retailers like H&M and Dolce & Gabbana for their decision to sell the religiously-prescribed garments for Muslim women, she said on France 24 that these companies were “promoting the confinement of women’s bodies.”

To the interviewer’s comment that some Muslim women choose to wear burqas and hijabs, Rossignol said, “Of course there are women who choose it. There were American negroes who were in favor of slavery.”

When told that the word ‘negro’ is often considered offensive, she has admitted to an “error of language” but she has bravely stood by the main point of her observation (By the way, the “error of language,” too, is the contrivance of the peddlers of black victimhood. The word ‘negro,’ derived from Latin niger, nigr- for ‘black,’ was used by the Spanish and Portuguese and first recorded from the middle of the16th century. It remained in use for centuries without much fuss. Black American campaigners like W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington used it till the early 20th century. The Black Power movement of the 1960s practically outlawed it).

Quite expectedly, jihad-friendly forces have denounced Rossignol’s remarks. France’s national council of the Muslim faith is livid. Its secretary general, Abdallah Zekir, said, “She should start by respecting secularism.” Look who is lecturing!

“Does a minister have the right to meddle in the way a woman wishes to dress as long as she respects the laws of the French Republic and that she doesn’t hide her face,” he asked. That’s right—only mullahs have the right to prescribe dresses for women!

Typically, Zekir said that the French Minister was acting as a “recruiting sergeant for Daesh [Islamic State] with such remarks.” Isn’t the charge familiar? Aren’t those who are critical of Islamism in India too are accused of pushing Muslims towards terrorism? It’s same all over the world: the ‘root-causes’ do not pertain to Islam and the faithful but those who stand up against jihad.

It is not just Muslim activists who support fundamentalism; the covering fire is provided by Leftists and liberals; worse, corporations, blinded by the lust for profits, also play ball. H&M and Dolce & Gabbana, whom Rossignol slammed, are not the only ones promoting Islamism. Even Change Lingerie—which promises women that it helps them “explore the different facets of your femininity. And the woman within”—has pitched in. Soon after Rossignol made her comments, Change.com began a campaign against her; it prepared a petition for Rossignol’s reprimand and managed to get about 16,000 signatures. Such is the influence of Islamists in the country which boasts of Voltaire, Sartre, and Camus.

It is indisputable that by selling burqas and hijabs, companies are supporting, albeit unwittingly, the Islamist agenda. Rossignol hit the nail on the head when she said: “What’s at stake is social control over women’s bodies. When brands invest in this Islamic garment market, they are shirking their responsibilities and are promoting women’s bodies being locked up.” And, thus, corporations are supporting the enslavement of Muslim women.

As for the Muslim women, who choose to wear, ‘modest wear,’ the less said the better. They surely have fallen in love with their chains. You can free somebody who has been forcibly enslaved, not those who wallow in slavery.