Yet feminists and politicians abandoned all these issues in order to focus on legislation banning veils, and therefore “freeing” Muslim women in France, according to Scott. As with most of Western society, France has problems with income inequality, glass ceiling, and domestic violence to name a few issues. However, by making Western society the standard, it implies that Western society does not have problems with women’s rights or sexism, which is untrue. It implies that Western society is the ideal, that it is perfect and Islamic society is far behind and needs to be brought up to this ideal. The whole basis of Western society/women having to “save” other women - or in this case, bringing Muslim women up to the standard of French women - is problematic. A flat out ban on head scarves is not an effective way to open Islamic women up to “modern ideas,” because it forces them into a system they do not necessarily believe in, and takes away their choice in how to dress and express themselves. With a good education, women were more likely to make choices of their own than to just go along with social norms. Mossuz-Lavau believed women would only be exposed to modern ideas in school. Scott refers to political scientist Janine Mossuz-Lavau for one of her main arguments against banning headscarves in France. In The Politics of the Veil by Joan Wallach Scott, Scott discusses the politics behind banning Muslim women from wearing veils, and dispels misconceptions Western society often has about veils.
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