{"id":3814,"date":"2021-05-03T12:41:11","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T12:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/?post_type=articles&p=3814"},"modified":"2021-05-04T10:44:08","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T10:44:08","slug":"a-letter-to-the-french-senate-from-a-french-muslim-girl-from-paris","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/articles\/a-letter-to-the-french-senate-from-a-french-muslim-girl-from-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"A Letter To The French Senate… From A Muslim Girl From Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
KIFAYA\/ ENOUGH\/ I’M DONE WATCHING<\/em>\u00a0(2018) BY ARTIST AND ACTIVIST ISRA ABDOU\u00a0@ischraa<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To my France
\nTo you whom I have known since my first second on earth,
\nTo you who has always been there for me,
\nTo you who raised me,
\nTo you who gave me so many opportunities,
\nTo you who has always advocated freedom,
\nTo you to whom I owe so much,
\nYou my native country,<\/p>\n

I decided to take my courage in both hands to share my fear with you, to write you this letter to share my own feelings about the decision of the past weeks. I want you to know that it took me a lot of courage before I was ready to write what was in my heart.<\/p>\n

I was afraid,
\nAfraid to speak out,
\nAfraid of how others would look at me,
\nAfraid of the consequences,
\nAfraid.
\nAnd deep inside am still afraid…
\nBut my faith overcame this fear and I know that we must always believe in our faith. And I learned to always have faith thanks to my religion, the one you decided to target.<\/p>\n

I still can’t understand why you spend so much time stigmatising my religion when France is currently facing more serious problems. We are in the middle of an economic and health crisis, the situation is only getting worse. People are losing their jobs, people are depressed, people are losing hope, people can no longer see a future for themselves, people are afraid, people are dying…<\/p>\n

Instead of focusing your energy on the real problems France is facing today, why debate for weeks about the wearing of the Hijab and the place of women in our society? And in doing so you create even more fear in France.<\/p>\n

Why don’t you advocate for equality between men and women? This subject has been a debate in France for several years now, why bring it up now? A few weeks before Ramadan? And then you dare to tell me that this is not stigmatisation and discrimination. It is clearly stigmatisation and discrimination, because in this law we only talk about the Muslim religion and not the other religions. The French are fond of pointing their fingers at Muslims and Arabs I can give you a list of examples but it will rub salt in the wound.<\/p>\n

I don’t understand why every time I look at the news on this subject, I come across more and more worrying developments. I can’t understand why the Senate decided to toughen the law regarding the wearing of the Hijab, and I would love to know how many of the deciding votes were cast by men. Why do the French want to dictate what a woman should or should not do. I can’t understand how you can question whether a minor should or should not wear a Hijab in public? How you have the right to decide how a woman should dress? Why do you want to control women’s bodies so much? And especially why do you continue to regulate my religion?<\/p>\n

When you are always preaching that France is a country of freedom. I feel like all these measures are put in place to make France a unliveable for Muslim people. Please, stop trying to control our bodies and lives.<\/p>\n

The ban of the hijab comes down to Islamophobia and the extreme rights, that need to regulate women\u2019s bodies and what they can and cannot wear, anti-bodily autonomy, but it\u2019s not up to you to make this decision. France is currently acting like a dictatorship towards Muslim women by banning the Hijab, while France claims to be a democratic country, a secular country, where the motto \u201clibert\u00e9, \u00e9galit\u00e9 et fraternit\u00e9\u201d should reign.<\/p>\n

To tell the truth, this situation does not shock me, it’s a summary of France dwelling on things that shouldn’t even be. I have the impression that the more the days go by, the worse it becomes, a never-ending story. The Hijab ban in France seem like a clash of culture or a clash between secularism and religion but it\u2019s just veiled racism.<\/p>\n

France claims to be a free country, but the desire to control women’s dress undermines women’s freedom, which is not new in France. Even though I don’t wear the hijab, I feel insecure and rejected by the society, by my own country.<\/p>\n

I know that by speaking out, I risk not finding a job in France, I know that the way some people look at me will change, I know that some people will say to me “if you are not happy, leave France”, and I’m not afraid to say, No I’m not going to leave my country, I don’t want to hide, I want to fight, I want to be heard, I want to prove to my country that this law should not even be a topic of conversation.<\/p>\n

I already know the repercussions, and I feel ready to face them, because I’ve decided not to be afraid anymore to say out loud what everyone else thinks, and I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to speak out, and I encourage all French-Muslim women to do the same. We live in a country that advocates freedom of expression, never forget that.<\/p>\n

I don’t want to hear people say, I don’t dare to talk about my religion for fear of being stigmatised, for fear of not being considered for a job interview, for fear of being rejected. Stop being afraid of our society because that’s what they want, we’re stronger than that, we mustn’t let them dictate our way of life.<\/p>\n

Bien cordialement,<\/p>\n

A peace-loving, French-Muslim girl who just wants to be heard,
\nLana from Paris
\n@lanafromparis<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"
KIFAYA\/ ENOUGH\/ I’M DONE TALKING (2018) BY ARTIST AND ACTIVIST ISRA ABDOU\u00a0@ischraa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A ma France
\nA toi que je connais depuis ma premi\u00e8re seconde sur terre,
\nA toi qui as toujours \u00e9t\u00e9 l\u00e0 pour moi,
\nA toi qui m’a \u00e9lev\u00e9,
\nA toi qui m’a donn\u00e9 tant d’opportunit\u00e9s,
\nA toi qui as toujours pr\u00f4n\u00e9 la libert\u00e9,
\nA toi \u00e0 qui je dois tant,
\nToi, mon pays natal,<\/p>\n

J’ai d\u00e9cid\u00e9 de prendre mon courage \u00e0 deux mains pour partager ma peur avec toi, t’\u00e9crire cette lettre pour partager mes sentiments sur ces derni\u00e8res semaines. Je veux que tu saches qu’il m’a fallu beaucoup de courage avant d’\u00eatre pr\u00eate \u00e0 \u00e9crire ce que j’avais sur le c\u0153ur.<\/p>\n

J’avais peur,
\nPeur de m’exprimer,
\nPeur de la fa\u00e7on dont les autres me regarderaient,
\nPeur des cons\u00e9quences,
\nTout simplement peur.
\nEt au fond de moi, j’ai toujours peur…<\/p>\n

Mais ma foi a surmont\u00e9 cette peur et je sais que nous devons toujours croire en notre foi. Et j’ai appris \u00e0 toujours avoir la foi gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 ma religion, celle que tu as d\u00e9cid\u00e9 de cibler.<\/p>\n

Je ne comprends toujours pas pourquoi vous passez autant de temps \u00e0 stigmatiser ma religion alors que la France est actuellement confront\u00e9e \u00e0 des probl\u00e8mes plus graves. Nous sommes en pleine crise \u00e9conomique et sanitaire, la situation ne fait qu’empirer.<\/p>\n

Des gens perdent leur emploi, les gens sont d\u00e9prim\u00e9s, les gens perdent espoir, les gens ne voient plus l’avenir, les gens ont peur, des gens meurent…<\/p>\n

Au lieu de concentrer votre \u00e9nergie sur les vrais probl\u00e8mes auxquels la France est confront\u00e9e, pourquoi d\u00e9battre pendant des semaines sur port du voile et sur la place de la femme dans notre soci\u00e9t\u00e9 ? Vous provoquez encore plus de peur en France.<\/p>\n

Pourquoi ne pr\u00f4nez-vous pas l’\u00e9galit\u00e9 entre les hommes et les femmes ? Ce sujet fait d\u00e9bat en France depuis plusieurs ann\u00e9es, pourquoi l’\u00e9voquer maintenant ? Quelques semaines avant le Ramadan ? Et puis vous osez me dire qu’il ne s’agit pas de stigmatisation et de discrimination. C’est clairement de la stigmatisation et de la discrimination, car dans cette loi on ne parle que de la religion musulmane et pas des autres religions. Les Fran\u00e7ais aiment bien montrer du doigt les musulmans et les Arabes ; je pourrais vous donner une liste d’exemples mais cela remuerait le couteau dans la plaie.<\/p>\n

Je ne comprends pas pourquoi \u00e0 chaque fois que je regarde l’actualit\u00e9 sur ce sujet, je tombe sur des faits de plus en plus inqui\u00e9tants. Je ne comprends pas pourquoi le S\u00e9nat a d\u00e9cid\u00e9 de durcir la loi sur le port du Hijab, et j’aimerais bien savoir combien de votes d\u00e9cisifs ont \u00e9t\u00e9 exprim\u00e9s par des hommes. Pourquoi les Fran\u00e7ais veulent-ils dicter ce qu’une femme doit ou ne doit pas faire ? Je ne comprends pas comment vous pouvez vous demander si une mineure doit ou non porter un Hijab en public ? Comment vous avez le droit de d\u00e9cider comment une femme doit s’habiller ? Pourquoi voulez-vous \u00e0 ce point contr\u00f4ler le corps des femmes ? Et surtout pourquoi continuez-vous \u00e0 pointer du doigt ma religion ?<\/p>\n

Alors que vous ne cessez de pr\u00eacher que la France est un pays de libert\u00e9. J’ai l’impression que toutes ces mesures sont mises en place afin de rendre la France invivable pour les musulmans. S’il vous pla\u00eet, je vous en supplie, arr\u00eatez d’essayer de contr\u00f4ler nos corps et nos vies.<\/p>\n

L’interdiction du port du voile, se r\u00e9sume \u00e0 l’islamophobie et \u00e0 l\u2019extr\u00eame droite, qui a ce besoin de r\u00e9glementer le corps des femmes et ce qu’elles peuvent ou ne peuvent pas porter, l’autonomie corporelle, mais ce n’est pas \u00e0 vous de prendre cette d\u00e9cision. La France agit actuellement comme une dictature envers les femmes musulmanes en interdisant le Hijab, alors que la France pr\u00e9tend \u00eatre un pays d\u00e9mocratique, un pays la\u00efque, o\u00f9 la devise “libert\u00e9, \u00e9galit\u00e9 et fraternit\u00e9” devrait r\u00e9gner.<\/p>\n

A vrai dire, cette situation ne me choque pas, c’est un r\u00e9sum\u00e9 de la France qui s’attarde sur des choses qui ne devraient pas. J’ai l’impression que plus les jours passent, plus cela s’aggrave, une histoire sans fin. L’interdiction du hijab en France semble \u00eatre un choc culturel ou un choc entre la la\u00efcit\u00e9 et la religion, mais ce n’est qu’un racisme voil\u00e9.<\/p>\n

La France pr\u00e9tend \u00eatre un pays libre, mais la volont\u00e9 de contr\u00f4ler la tenue vestimentaire des femmes porte atteinte \u00e0 la libert\u00e9 des femmes, ce qui n’est pas nouveau en France. M\u00eame si je ne porte pas le hijab, je me sens en ins\u00e9curit\u00e9 et rejet\u00e9e par la soci\u00e9t\u00e9, par mon propre pays.<\/p>\n

Je sais qu’en m’exprimant, je risque de ne pas trouver du travail en France, je sais que le regard de certaines personnes va changer, je sais que certaines personnes vont me dire “si tu n’es pas heureuse, quitte la France”, et je n’ai pas peur de dire, \u00ab\u00a0Non je ne vais pas quitter mon pays, je ne veux pas me cacher, je veux me battre, je veux \u00eatre entendue, je veux prouver \u00e0 mon pays que cette loi ne devrait m\u00eame pas \u00eatre un sujet de conversation\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n

Je connais d\u00e9j\u00e0 les r\u00e9percussions, et je me sens pr\u00eate \u00e0 les affronter, car j’ai d\u00e9cid\u00e9 de ne plus avoir peur de dire tout haut ce que beaucoup pensent tout bas, et j’ai eu la chance de pouvoir m’exprimer, et j’encourage toutes les femmes franco-musulmanes \u00e0 faire de m\u00eame. Nous vivons dans un pays qui pr\u00f4ne la libert\u00e9 d’expression, ne l’oubliez jamais.<\/p>\n

Je ne veux pas entendre les gens dire, je n’ose pas parler de ma religion de peur d’\u00eatre stigmatis\u00e9e, de peur de ne pas \u00eatre consid\u00e9r\u00e9e pour un entretien d’embauche, de peur d’\u00eatre rejet\u00e9e. Arr\u00eatez d’avoir peur de notre soci\u00e9t\u00e9 parce que c’est ce qu’elle veut, nous sommes plus forts que \u00e7a, nous ne devons pas la laisser nous dicter notre fa\u00e7on de vivre.<\/p>\n

Bien cordialement,<\/p>\n

Une franco-musulmane pacifiste qui veut juste \u00eatre entendue,
\nLana from Paris<\/p>\n

\"\"
KIFAYA\/ ENOUGH\/ I’M DONE LISTENING (2018) BY ARTIST AND ACTIVIST ISRA ABDOU\u00a0@ischraa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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