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| 教 育 專 題 深 入 報 導《2007-09-14》 |
| 本期內容 | |
| ◎國際專題：面紗下的穆斯林職業女性 | |
| ◎戴面紗的女性工作選擇少Women the world over find veil limits job choice | |
| ◎埃及法庭裁定美國大學不准戴面紗條列無效Egypt court rules against U.S. university on face veil | |
| 國際專題：面紗下的穆斯林職業女性 | |
| 策劃、編譯■陳銳嬪 | |
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身體自主和服裝自由本該是基本人權之一，但是在現代社會，自主與自由並非每個人可享有。 本期國際專題要讓大家看看的是戴面紗的穆斯林女性，無論是在伊斯蘭國家，或者在非伊斯蘭國家，在生活以及職場上所面對的歧視與不公平待遇。 當大家都說要讓世界更多元的時候，我們是否有好好地、寬容地對待異於我們的少數和他者呢？而台灣社會準備好拋開對特定群體、特定族群的歧視了嗎？ |
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| （回目錄） | |
| 戴面紗的女性工作選擇少Women the world over find veil limits job choice | |
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阿茲哈‧歐貝得無法獲得杜拜店員的工作，全因為覆蓋在她臉上，只露出雙眼的面紗。為了提高受雇機率，歐貝得決定停止戴面紗。「沒有人會雇用戴著面紗的女子在零售業工作。」22歲的歐貝得如是說。 為了表達虔誠之意而戴面紗的穆斯林女性，或許已經預期會在伊斯蘭世界以外面對求職困境，但是那些生活在伊斯蘭世界的女性，也面對同樣的問題──她們很難獲得需要和公眾互動的工作。 在阿拉伯聯合大公國，在工作場合穿著優雅罩袍與頭巾的女性隨處可見，但是還是很難在前檯見到蒙著面紗，只露出雙眼的女性。杜拜一間郵局的經理阿都拉‧納塞爾表示：「戴面紗的女性不會負責櫃檯，因為顧客需要知道自己正在和誰對話。」 在很多國家，尤其是世俗社會，女性是否有權戴著面紗上學或者成為警員、教師以及從事其他需要與公眾互動的工作，都是熱門的政治議題。在科威特、阿拉伯聯合大公國和沙烏地阿拉伯，很多女性在公眾場合都蒙著臉。她們主要是受到保守的傳統和伊斯蘭教教長勸告穆斯林女性應該穿著面紗所驅使。 杜拜是阿拉伯聯合大公國中最現代化的一個酋長國，有來自不同國家的人口，這其中非穆斯林占了人口的一大部分。那些載著面紗的女性，覺得成功謀職是一件困難的事。 杜拜國立人力資源發展及聘雇機構公共關係經理諾拉‧阿爾必鐸指出：「有些公司制定政策制止女性在工作時間穿面紗，銀行就是一例。」 在埃及──人口最稠密的阿拉伯地區，越來越多女性開始蒙上面紗，並造成了爭議。今年6月，法庭裁定一間獲得美國鑑定合格的大學有罪，該大學禁止一名女性學者戴面紗。 不鼓勵穿面紗 在美國，巴基斯坦移民賽瑪‧阿茲法計劃，一旦考獲芝加哥的醫學考試，她將戴著面紗去面試。34歲的阿茲法解釋：「我認識的一些穆斯林的女性醫生成功在這裡取得醫生執照，她們告訴我，只要妳有天份，沒有人會因為妳戴面紗而拒絕給妳工作。」 赭妲‧阿必表示，她的面紗並沒有影響她的事業。她目前是傳播和市場顧問，她是美國國家廣播公司的新聞編輯，並且在巴基斯坦經營電視台。她說：「我已經向他人證明，戴著面紗的女性可以做她想做的事、可以成功、可以成為職業女性。」 38歲的阿必當然也曾經面對同事對她戴面紗所表現的好奇和困惑，但是美國的法律讓她有自由工作和戴面紗的自由。雖然如此，她還是得面對一個最大的障礙：「我還是不被鼓勵出現在螢幕上，因為我蒙著面紗。」 在世界上穆斯林人口最多的國度──印尼，面紗是稀有之物。在宗教信仰最堅定的亞齊省，當地伊斯蘭法律規定女性在公共場合必須穿頭巾，也很少見到戴面紗的女子。 西蒂‧諾萊拉是一名伊斯蘭教運動者，她在數年前拋棄了面紗。她說，在印尼，穿面紗是少數伊斯蘭團體的行為，如嚴守沙烏地阿拉伯遜尼派教義的瓦哈比派。她說：「在印尼，一般大眾認為穿面紗的女性很怪異，他們會告訴小孩不要靠近我們，有些甚至說我們是罪犯。而啟發我穿面紗的老師，現在也不再戴面紗了。」 土耳其法庭不允許戴頭巾 在土耳其，就算穿著簡單的頭巾，對女性來說也是一種掙扎，因為該國的世俗化法律禁止女性在工作的公共場合覆蓋頭部。在很多辦公室，唯一覆蓋頭部的女性是清潔工人。 雖然沒有數據顯示，有多少女性因為頭巾條例而被迫從大學或者職場中退場，但是根據重要智庫TESEV的研究，有60％的女性覆蓋她們的頭部。 在經濟合作與發展組織公佈的女性勞動率數據中，土耳其以27％名列最低的女性勞動參與率，社會運動者把這歸咎於頭巾條例。通常，女大學生會穿戴假髮，作為一種替代方案。 法瑪‧本麗是一名把頭部掩蓋起來的律師，有鑑於此，她無法出現在法庭上。她因為頭巾條例而中斷碩士課程，並轉而推動戴頭巾權利運動。她說：「妳無法在公共部門工作，而在私人機構，他們認為妳會破壞他們的形象……妳的薪水很低，因為公司知道他們不會有競爭對手，妳找到工作的機會很低。」 有些人期待剛贏得政權、伊斯蘭教色彩濃厚的「正義發展黨」可以廢除頭巾禁令，但是更多人更擔心的是，「正義發展黨」將會面對世俗派激烈的反對，並且徹底摧毀土耳其作為一個世俗國的形象。 本麗表示：「我對此事抱著希望，但是土耳其是個複雜的國家，就讓時間告訴我們答案吧！」 （路透社） Aysha Obeid couldn't get a job as a shop assistant in Dubai because of the veil that covered her face, exposing only her eyes to the outside world. So to improve her employment prospects, Obeid stopped wearing the veil. "No one takes women with niqab in the retail sector," said Obeid, 22. While women who cover up for their faith may expect problems getting some kinds of work outside the Muslim world, those in the region also say they have trouble getting jobs -- particularly ones requiring them to interact with the public. It is common to see Emirati women in the workplace, most wearing elegant robes and head coverings, but those wearing the niqab which leaves only the eyes uncovered are rarely seen in front offices. "Women in niqabs do not sit at the counter. They take administrative jobs," said Abdullah Naser, a manager at a Dubai post office. "Clients need to know who they are talking to." Face veils have been a hot political issue in many countries over the rights of wearers to attend schools in secular societies or become policewomen, teachers or other jobs that involve interacting with the public. They are particularly common in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia where many women cover their faces in public, driven by conservative traditions and powerful clerics who advise that Muslim women must wear the niqab. In Dubai, the most modern emirate where multinationals keep their regional hubs and expatriate non-Muslims make up a large proportion of the population, women who wear the niqab find it hard to get jobs. "Some companies have a policy preventing women from wearing their niqab during work hours, such as banks for example," said Nora al-Bidour, public relations manager at Tanmia. The niqab has also caused controversy in Egypt, the most populous Arab country, where an increasing number of women are wearing the veil. In June, a court ruled that a U.S.-accredited university was wrong to bar a female scholar who wears a face veil. NOT ON SCREEN In the United States, Saima Azfar, an immigrant from Pakistan, plans to wear her niqab when she interviews for jobs once she passes her medical board exams in Chicago. "There are Muslim women doctors I know who went through the licensing process here," explains Azfar, 34. "They told me that if you have the talent, then nobody will deny you a job for wearing a veil." Zerqa Abid says her niqab has not curtailed her career. Now a communications and marketing consultant, Abid worked as a news editor for U.S. broadcaster NBC and ran a TV station in Pakistan. "I have proven to people that a covered woman can do whatever she wants, can be successful, can be a career woman," she says. While she does meet curiosity and confusion among her colleagues, Abid, 38, says that American laws allow her the freedom to work and wear niqab, with an important drawback. "I am still not welcome on the screen because of my face cover," she adds. In the world's most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, the niqab is a rarity. Even in the staunchly Muslim province of Aceh, where women are required to wear headscarves in public as part of sharia, or Islamic law, the niqab can hardly be seen. Siti Nurlaila, a Muslim activist who abandoned her niqab a few years ago, said in Indonesia the niqab was worn mostly by a tiny group of Muslims who follow Wahhabism, an austere form of Sunni Islam as practiced in Saudi Arabia. "In Indonesia, the general public see people who wear the niqab as strange and people often tell their children to avoid us, or even say that we are criminals," she said. "Even my teacher who inspired me to wear the niqab has stopped wearing it," she said. NO SCARVES IN TURKISH COURTS In Turkey, wearing a simple headscarf is a struggle for women who are banned from covering their heads at work in public sector jobs under the country's secular laws and are discouraged from doing so in the private sector as well. In many offices, the only covered women are the cleaners. There are no statistics on how many women drop out of university or the labor market because of headscarf regulations, but 60 percent of women cover their heads, according to a study by leading thinktank TESEV. Turkey has the lowest women's labor force participation rate in the OECD, at 27 percent, which activists attribute at least in part to headscarf restrictions. Often girls wear wigs to university as a compromise solution. Fatma Benli is a lawyer who covers her head and so cannot appear in court. She quit her masters degree studies because of the ban and campaigns for the right to wear the headscarf. "You can't work in the public sector and even in the private sector they think you will hurt their image ... Salaries are lower because they know there's no competition as your chances of finding a job are low," she said. There is some hope the re-elected Islamist-rooted AK Party could look at lifting the ban -- as it tried to in its first term -- but many suspect it will take years to overcome fierce secular opposition and fears that lifting the ban would wipe out Turkey's secular character. "I'm hopeful," said Benli. "But Turkey is a complicated country, time will tell." REUTERS |
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| （回目錄） | |
| 埃及法庭裁定美國大學不准戴面紗條列無效Egypt court rules against U.S. university on face veil | |
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根據法庭消息透露，埃及法庭於今年7月宣判：設立於開羅的一間美國大學，禁止一名戴面紗的女性學者使用其設備，是錯誤的決定。 在開羅的美國大學，被視為是埃及地區傳播西方自由教育的堡壘。但是該大學卻在一名女性開始戴上只露出雙眼的面紗後，終止她使用圖書館的權利。 在此裁決中，一個特別成立的高庭委員會支持2001年法庭的裁決，該裁決判定美國大學不應該禁止穿著面紗的伊曼‧奧再妮進入校園，因為戴面紗是再妮的個人與宗教自由。 赫杉‧巴卡是再妮的律師團成員之一，他也是名人權律師，他形容這個判決為「女性身體和服裝規範自主」開了一個勝利的先例。他告訴路透社說：「法庭用最強烈的語氣指出，女性有權決定自己的服飾，她們不應該因為自己選擇的服飾而被歧視。完全禁止面紗是不合法的。」 開羅美國大學表示，他們在作這個決定前有諮詢律師的意見，而法庭所訂的一些原則也支持他們的立場。 來自法庭的消息透露，判決留有一些空間讓該大學執行因為公共需要而施行的面紗限制。舉個例子，在校門口執行任務的男警衛或者女職員，可以要求進入校園的女學生掀開面紗，露出臉蛋。 在2001年，再妮是埃及愛資哈爾大學的英文系博士生，一直以來她都有使用開羅美國大學圖書館的權利。巴卡表示，目前已經獲得博士學位的再妮，可以接受因為安全理由，戴面紗的女學生必須在警衛面前露面的決定。 安全考量 開羅美國大學指出，他們雖然體認到要尊重學生的宗教價值，但是他們禁止面紗卻是基於安全考量。 埃及政府也擔心在1992到1997年之間欲顛覆政府的伊斯蘭軍事集團會利用面紗作為一種掩飾。開羅美國學校被看成是伊斯蘭軍事集團的潛在目標，欲進入校園的校職員必須經過金屬探測器並出示識別證才得以進入校園。 開羅美國大學在判決之後發表聲明指出：「禁止戴面紗的政策是建立在所有的校園成員有基本的權利知道他們在課室、實驗室以及校園的時候，是和誰在打交道，這並不是宗教議題。」 該大學認為法庭的裁定並非最後定奪，但是法庭消息來源和巴卡皆認為，這個由資深大法官成立的特別仲裁團所作的裁決，將無法上訴。 雖然該大學禁止學生穿面紗，但是學生卻允許穿戴伊斯蘭教普遍的頭巾，頭巾遮蓋女性的頭髮卻不會掩蓋到臉部。很多穆斯林女性把面紗視為虔誠與道德的象徵。在埃及的大學，學生通常都被允許戴面紗，但是也有一些大學的行政單位對戴面紗有所限制。 （路透社） An Egyptian court ruled on Saturday that a U.S.-accredited university in Cairo was wrong to bar a female scholar who wears an Islamic face veil from using its facilities, court sources and a lawyer for the woman said. The American University in Cairo, seen as a bastion of Western liberal education in Egypt, had revoked the woman's longstanding library privileges after she donned the niqab, a face veil that leaves only the wearer's eyes uncovered. In its ruling, a special chamber of the High Administrative Court upheld a 2001 court ruling that the school could not bar Iman al-Zainy from its campus over the niqab because her decision to veil was a matter of personal and religious freedom. Hossam Bahgat, a human rights lawyer who was part of Zainy's legal team, described the ruling as a precedent-setting victory for "women's autonomy over their body and dress code". "The court said in the strongest of terms that it is up to women to decide about their clothing, and that women should not be discriminated against because of the clothes that they choose to wear," he told Reuters. "A complete ban on the niqab is now outlawed as a matter of principle." The American University in Cairo said it was consulting with lawyers following the decision, but that some of the principles mentioned by the court appeared to support its position. Court sources said Saturday's ruling does allow the university some leeway in placing restrictions on the niqab due to public necessity. Female students, for example, could be required to reveal their faces at the university gate to a designated male security guard or female staff. In 2001, Zainy was a doctoral student of English at Egypt's religious al-Azhar University but had for over a decade held privileges at the American University in Cairo library. Bahgat said Zainy, who has since obtained her Ph.D. and was pursuing the case out of principle, did not object to revealing her face at the campus gate for security reasons. SECURITY CONCERNS The American University in Cairo, whose downtown campus is a prominent central Cairo landmark, said that while it recognized the need to respect the religious values of students, it had barred the niqab due to safety concerns. Egyptian authorities have feared that Islamic militant groups that fought a 1992-1997 campaign to topple the government could use the niqab as a disguise. The American University in Cairo has been seen as a potential target for Islamic militant groups, and students and faculty must already pass through a metal detector and show identification cards to guards to gain access. "The policy prohibiting face veiling was established by the university because all members of the AUC community have a basic right to know with whom they are dealing, whether in class, labs or anywhere else on campus. It is not a religious issue," the university said in a statement after the ruling. The university said the court verdict was not the final word in the case. Court sources and Bahgat said the decision, by a special chamber of the court's most senior judges that is tasked with unifying conflicting legal rulings, could not be appealed. While the niqab is banned at the university, students are allowed to wear the more common Islamic headscarf, the hijab, which covers a woman's hair but leaves her face visible. Many Muslim women see the veil as a sign of piety and morality. Students at Egyptian state universities are generally allowed to wear the niqab, although they have sometimes faced resistance by university administrations. REUTERS |
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