|
Upcoming Eventsno events match your query! New Eventsno events posted in last week Sorry, no stories matched your search, maybe try again with different settings. Blog Feeds
Anti-Empire
The SakerA bird's eye view of the vineyard
Lockdown Skeptics
Voltaire NetworkVoltaire, international edition
|
international / rights, freedoms and repression Wednesday January 21, 2004 17:54 by Indymedia Ireland Editorial Group
 On Saturday 19th January the Irish Anti War Movement supported an international mobilisation against the banning of the Hijab in French Schools by taking part in a protest at the French Embassy in Dublin. This has lead to a heated debate on Indymedia Ireland which reflects the complexity of the issue. Below is one contribution to the debate: A defense of the stance of the IAWM contributed by Aoife Ní Fhearghail of the IAWM and SWP: "When the Irish Anti-War Movement was set up - as well as opposing the looming war on Afghanistan, the use of Shannon Airport by belligerent powers and the on-going occupation of Palestine - two of our defining principles were opposition to the racism (or more particularly Islamophobia) which is inherent in Bush's 'War on Terror' and opposition to attacks on civil liberties. Bush's 'War on Terror' has been a useful tool to governments the world over which want to enact racist, anti-immigrant legislation and crack down heavily on civil liberties. Clearly, the decision by the french government to ban a woman's right to choose to wear the Hijab in school is not just an infringement on her civil rights, but a continuation of France's generations-long attacks on members of the Islamic community. This latest decision is not designed to further the cause of women's liberation, but to demonise young French Muslim women. If you cannot understand this then you are either guilty of the most infantile ultraleftism or you possibly subscribe yourself to the Robert Kilroy-Silk school of thought. The SWP as a socialist organisation is opposed to women's oppression and women being forced to dress/behave in a way they do not choose. However unlike other 'socialist' groups and individuals notably absent from Saturday's demonstration the SWP supports an individuals' right to practice their religion. Young Muslim women living in Ireland have been at the forefront of all the anti-war demonstrations. Many organised walk-outs of their schools on March 20 last year when the invasion of Iraq began. Along with members of Catholic, Quaker, Jewish, Church of Ireland and Gandhian-individualistic brands of religion, they have played just as significant a role in the anti-war movement as those of us who are atheists, and just as they march in defence of freedom in Iraq, so we in Ireland must defend their civil rights in France."
Debate Ongoing Here
Full Story & Comments >>
 10 comments (last - wednesday february 11, 2004 11:26)
|
Sun 09 Feb, 12:07
West Bank: Israeli Forces Invade Villages, Close Roads Sun Feb 09, 2025 07:49 | IMEMC News Mondoweiss ?As part of West Bank offensive, Israel conducts largest demolition i... Sat Feb 08, 2025 21:57 | IMEMC & Agencies Tammun and Al-Far?a Camp: Army Shoots 2 Palestinians, Abducts 4 Sat Feb 08, 2025 03:57 | Ali Salam Israeli Forces Assault a Paramedic in Beita, Storm Balata Refugee Camp Sat Feb 08, 2025 00:35 | Ali Salam Child, 7, Dies From Serious Wounds Suffered In Tulkarem Fri Feb 07, 2025 19:43 | IMEMC News |
|
