Posts Tagged France

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Feminist Fuck Yeah: Women Throw Beach Party to Protest French Islamophobia

This morning, protesters gathered outside the French embassy in London, poured bags of sand, and staged a beach party complete with deck chairs, inflatables, and women in a wide array of clothing, from bikinis to burkinis, to protest France’s racist ban on “religious swimwear” in its coastal towns.

This morning, protesters gathered outside the French embassy in London, poured bags of sand, and staged a beach party complete with deck chairs, inflatables, and women in a wide array of clothing, from bikinis to burkinis, ...

European Court upholds France’s veil ban because covered faces make people uncomfortable

In a surprisingly honest but disturbing decision, the European Court of Human Rights upheld France’s ban on the full-faced veil because veiling makes people uncomfortable.

S.A.S. is a 24-year-old French Muslim woman who wears a full-faced veil or niqab. She challenged the 2010 French law–which we’ve covered before–that bans wearing clothing that covers the face in public and imposes a fine of 150-euro ($205) and/or citizenship instruction. The ban, S.A.S. argued before the European Court of Human Rights, violates the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, and the prohibition of discrimination. The Court, however, disagreed and upheld the ban in a decision that cannot be appealed.

In a surprisingly honest but disturbing decision, the European Court of Human Rights upheld France’s ban on the full-faced veil because veiling makes people uncomfortable.

S.A.S. is a 24-year-old French Muslim woman who wears a full-faced veil ...

Daily Feminist Cheat Sheet

Celebrating Bastille Day, feminist style

Last weekend, France celebrated Bastille Day, the national holiday that commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison during the French Revolution in 1789. It was a big day here in Paris; When I stepped out of my front door on Saturday, it was to see tanks rolling down the street on their way to a military celebration.

One group of French feminist activists had a different way of celebrating the day. You may have heard of La Barbe, the group that interrupts male-dominated events – annual general meetings of large corporations, or the Cannes Film Festival – and asks why there aren’t more women present. The only way to wield real power in France is to have a ...

Last weekend, France celebrated Bastille Day, the national holiday that commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison during the French Revolution in 1789. It was a big day here in Paris; When I stepped out of my ...

DSK questioned by French police about Banon’s rape accusations

After the rape charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn were dropped in New York, he returned to France to more questioning about another potential rape, this one of Tristane Banon. Banon is claiming she was raped by DSK when she was interviewing him for her book in 2003.

After the investigation, prosecutors will decide if they are going to trial. You can read more about her account of the rape here.

It will be interesting to see what “credibility” questions come up this time since she is a French citizen and, according to the BBC, is the daughter of Socialist party local councillor Anne Mansouret and god-daughter of DSK’s second wife Brigitte Guillemette.

via BBC.

Related:

After the rape charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn were dropped in New York, he returned to France to more questioning about another potential rape, this one of Tristane Banon. Banon is claiming she was raped by DSK ...

The limits of a WOC feminist stance within the context of global racism.

A few days ago I was stuck in the airport and luckily caught Mona Eltahawy debating blogger Hebah Ahmed on Elliot Spitzer’s show on CNN “In the Arena” about the ban on face veils in France, piety, feminism and xenophobia. It is worth a watch because they both make really good points and also because it is rare that you see two actual real life Muslim women debating about the lives of, well, Muslim women, on television.

Eltahawy makes the point that the law in France is obviously part of the conservative xenophobia of the Sarkozy administration, however feels adamantly that a face covering is oppressive to women. It assumes piety means that women shouldn’t exist and is predicated on ...

A few days ago I was stuck in the airport and luckily caught Mona Eltahawy debating blogger Hebah Ahmed on Elliot Spitzer’s show on CNN “In the Arena” about the ban on face veils in France, ...