Feminism and Antiracism: International Struggles for Justice

13 "Lâ'affaire des Foulards": Problems of Defining a Feminist Antiracist Strategy in French Schools

Chapter 13 “L’affaire des Foulards” Problems of Defining a Feminist Antiracist Strategy in French Schools Jane Freedman This chapter deals with the interactions of feminisms and antiracisms in French schools, in particular in relation to the debate surrounding the foulard islamique (Islamic headscarf) worn by some girls of mainly Maghrebi (North African) origin. This highly politicized debate has involved all the major feminist and antiracist associations in France, highlighting the previous lack of interaction between organized feminist and antiracist movements and leading to questions about how feminists can best engage in antiracist practices. It may be argued that an important effect of the affaire des foulards has been to expose the previously unquestioned universalist base of French feminisms: a universalism structured by traditional French ideologies of nation and citizenship which have led feminists to ignore the multiple and multitiered nature of women’s identities in contemporary French society. At the same time, feminists have criticized antiracist movements for undervaluing domination based on gender, in particular, in the case of the affaire des foulards, for refusing to acknowledge the patriarchal structures present within Muslim communities in France. The issues surrounding the affaire des foulards can thus be seen as a salutary reminder of the need for feminists and antiracists to consider the crosscutting nature of dominations and oppressions within all modern societies, not just in France, and to fight against all types of exclusion. The affaire des foulards must also be placed in an international context. France’s ambivalent relationship to her former colonies, particularly Algeria ,1 and her fear of the spread of Islamic fundamentalism or intégrisme, has 295 created tensions within French society, with immigrants of Islamic origin at risk of being stereotyped as “fundamentalists” or “terrorists.” As Nancy Venel notes, the global political context—which has witnessed events such as the Gulf war, the rise of fundamentalisms in Iran, Algeria, and elsewhere, and the Rushdie affair—only adds to the fears of the French.2 Indeed, the girls at the center of the affaire des foulards were often represented by the French media as tools of Islamic organizations aiming to infiltrate France. This type of racist stereotyping clearly hampers the integration of immigrant communities and attempts to build a feminist antiracist strategy, as the voices of Muslim women themselves are often ignored. However, this fear of Islam is not unique to France, and the lessons of the affaire des foulards are relevant for feminists in a global context, in which fear and mistrust of Islam and particularly Islamic “fundamentalism” leads to ignorance of the true nature of Muslim women’s identities and situations. We must remember that gender is constructed within a set of global power relations and, as Avtar Brah comments: “Our insertion into these global relations of power is realised through a myriad of economic, political and ideological processes.”3 In asserting the superiority of French culture over patriarchal Muslim culture, many French feminists fell into the trap of ignoring their positioning as white women within a set of postcolonial power relations. This is a trap which it seems only too difficult for feminists of all nationalities to avoid. The affaire des foulards must thus be understood within a set of postcolonial power relations and within the context of French debates over immigration, nationality, and citizenship. These questions have been at the heart of French politics for the past decade, particularly with the introduction of new laws restricting the entry and residence of foreigners in France and making the conditions for obtaining French nationality more difficult.4 France has a long history of immigration, with a shortage of manpower leading government and industrial leaders to encourage the influx of foreign workers. Before 1945 these immigrants came mainly from Europe, but after World War II, as the process of decolonization5 began, more and more immigrants began to arrive from France’s colonies and former colonies in Africa and Asia, and particularly from the countries of the Maghreb: Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Algeria in particular, which had been heavily colonized by France and was regarded as an integral part of France itself, was a prime site for the recruitment of workers.The legal status of Algeria established in 1947 allowed for the free movement of the population between that country and France. 296 j a n e f r e e d m a n Even the protracted and bloodthirsty war of...