A powerful testimony by Nadia Ahmad, a prominent Muslim scholar and lawyer, reveals the systematic suppression of Muslim women’s voices in the West.
An American Muslim girl speaks about the discriminatory policies of France and America against Muslims:
My father named me after the Olympic gymnast, Nadia Comaneci, following his attendance at the Montreal Summer Games in 1976. While I did not follow her athletic footsteps, I charted my own path as a journalist, lawyer, and law professor. My name is Nadia Ahmad. As a Muslim student who adheres to laws and is committed to social justice in my professional and academic fields, I find the current treatment of Muslim women deeply concerning.
The Hijab Ban and Beyond
Islamophobia has driven French Muslim women to migrate. Issues that add to my concern range from the ban on hijabs for French Muslim athletes at the Paris Olympics to the actions of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) with American Muslim representatives.
The Olympics, which supposedly epitomize global unity, have effectively told French Muslim women to leave their faith at the door. This is not merely an issue of dress but a fundamental violation of religious freedoms and personal autonomy rooted in broader French policies since 2004 when the French Senate passed a bill banning prominent religious symbols in public schools.
As both a legal scholar and an American Muslim woman, I find such developments troubling where religious challenges clash with government-imposed laws. We have become a secular society devoid of any religious values.
Marginalized Voices
Muslim women are clearly marginalized politically as well; the reduction in Muslim representatives is not just a statistical decrease but a reduction in collective voice and negotiating power—a power that has been completely suppressed during conflicts like Gaza and Israel where defending Palestine is not allowed.
Pro-Israel groups consider this an achievement while it is actually suppression of Muslim women.
Western news media question Gaza’s death tolls, ignore mass child hunger, and through their silence become complicit in genocide. If anyone doubts Vice President Kamala Harris’s stance on Gaza, she explicitly stated recently against protesters in Washington: ‘I condemn anyone associated with the savage terrorist organization Hamas.’ The common thread between France’s Olympic hijab ban and the situation with representatives in America and presidential candidates’ statements shows discrimination against women in modern society. The changes and laws implemented in both cases marginalize Muslims’ voices, especially those like mine. Upholding everyone’s rights requires more than words; it requires inherent changes towards greater support for Muslim women.
Ahmad’s powerful words shed light on the challenges faced by Muslim women, calling for a society that truly upholds the rights of all its citizens.
from: Middle east eye