With an overwhelming vote, France's Senate has assured that a law banning Islamic headscarves from public schools will be on the books for the new school year in September despite protests at home and abroad.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin expressed official concern for the first time Wednesday over possible negative fallout over the law, telling senators that France must "try to reassure" detractors who consider it discriminatory.
However, massive approval hours later by the Senate, which voted 276 to 20 in favor of the legislation, provides the legitimacy President Jacques Chirac sought.
The vote came three weeks after the National Assembly, the lower chamber, overwhelmingly approved the bill in a 494 to 36 vote following a marathon debate.
Only a formality remains -- the president's signing the measure into law within the next 15 days. Chirac has said a law is needed to protect the constitutionally guaranteed principle of secularism, and to stop the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in France.
The law forbids religious apparel and signs that "conspicuously show" a student's religious affiliation. Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses would also be banned. However, authorities have made clear that it is aimed at removing Islamic headscarves from classrooms.
French leaders hope the law will quell debate over headscarves that has divided France since 1989, when two young girls were expelled from their school in Creil, outside Paris, for wearing the head coverings. Scores more have since been expelled.
However, there are fears that the law could do more harm that good. France's Roman Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches are among those who have expressed that view.
The headscarf ban in public schools has drawn outrage from Muslims in France and abroad.
In the latest protests, some 6,000 students in Cairo demonstrated Monday at the Islamic Al-Azhar University, where the headscarf is compulsory for women. A day earlier, more than 2,000 Muslims, mainly veiled women, protested in Amman, Jordan.
An audiotape with a voice attributed to the top lieutenant of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahri, aired Feb. 24 on the Arabic TV station Al-Arabiya, said the French measure "is another example of the Crusader's malice, which Westerns have against Muslims."
"It is clear that on the international level the question is not always understood," Raffarin said.
The measure "could be perceived as sectarian," he added. "We must not consider this to be a minor situation."
Raffarin insisted, however, that the law was needed to ensure respect for secularism and contain the spread of Muslim fundamentalism.
"We wanted to send a strong and rapid signal," the prime minister said.
Mostly Roman Catholic France has an estimated 5 million Muslims -- the largest Muslim population in Western Europe. French leaders have said that fundamentalism is on the rise within the Muslim population.
The legislation stipulates that "in schools, junior high schools and high schools, signs and dress that conspicuously show the religious affiliation of students are forbidden." It does not apply to students in private schools.
Sanctions for refusing to remove offending apparel will range from a warning to temporary suspension to expulsion.
How the law will be applied remains unclear. Instructions are to be distributed to schools around the nation. However, no one is yet certain whether Muslim girls wishing to cover their hair will be allowed to wear smaller apparel like bandannas -- or whether Sikh boys will permitted to keep their turbans.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS