The case against the two women stems from their appearance at the Meaux town hall in May wearing veils to offer a birthday cake to Mayor Jean-Francois Cope, the head of President Sarkozy’s conservative UMP party who was instrumental in pushing the ban through parliament. RTT News Staff Writer
A court in France on Thursday fined two French Muslim women for violating a new law that bans wearing of the traditional Islamic face-covering veils in public places in France, the first to be penalized by a court under the new law. While Hind Ahmas, a 32-year-old mother-of-three, was fined 120 euros by the court, 36-year-old Najate Nait Ali was ordered to pay a 80-euro fine. The court, however, did not order them to take a citizenship course as demanded by the prosecutors. Both women have pledged to appeal against their punishment to the European Court of Human Rights if their fines are upheld by a higher French court. They claim that the ban violates their individual freedom, freedom of thought and of religious expression and practice. The developments come after France enforced a new law in April banning women from wearing face-covering veils while in public. The measure specifically targets two garments – the burqa, a full-body black cloak that includes a mesh over the face, and the niqab, a full-face veil that leaves a narrow slit only for the eyes. The case against the two women stems from their appearance at the Meaux town hall in May wearing veils to offer a birthday cake to Mayor Jean-Francois Cope, the head of President Sarkozy’s conservative UMP party who was instrumental in pushing the ban through parliament. Their court case was followed closely not only in France, but in several other European nations, including Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland, which already have – or are planning – similar legislation. In addition, anyone forcing a Muslim woman to conceal her face because of her gender faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of up to 30,000 euros. The fine will be doubled if the veiled female is a Though President Nicholas Sarkozy’s determination to ban niqab and burqa gathered enough support of lawmakers in the Senate and the National Assembly, its opponents argue that the bill contradicts France’s secular values and republican principles and goes against women’s dignity. Legal experts across the world have suggested that the new French law could be in direct violation of article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which ensures freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The French Interior Ministry estimates that less than 2,000 women wear full Islamic veils in France, which has the largest Muslim population in western Europe. France had earlier banned Islamic headscarves in state-run schools.
