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45 Colum. J. Transnat'l L. 367 (2006-2007)
Secularism and Human Rights: A Contextual Analysis of Headscarves, Religious Expression, and Women's Equality under International Law

handle is hein.journals/cjtl45 and id is 373 raw text is: Articles Secularism and Human Rights: A Contextual Analysis of Headscarves, Religious Expression, and Women's Equality Under International Law KARIMA BENNOUNE* This Article advocates an innovative contextual ap- proach to assessing the international legality of bans in public schools on modest garments claimed to be required by religious beliefs for Muslim women. Too often this has been considered solely a question of re- ligious freedom. This paper advocates the re- insertion of gender equality into the heart of the de- bate. To obtain results most conducive to reconciling the human right to religious freedom and the human right to gender equality, it examines restrictions on headscarves and veils in a novel matrix offactors, in- cluding pressures on individual women to wear or not wear such gear, the impact on other female students, fundamentalist organizing targeting education, Islamophobia, and the multiple meanings of veiling. Applying the contextual approach, this Article argues * Associate Professor, Rutgers School of Law-Newark. I would like to thank Elizabeth Espert and James McGhee for excellent research assistance. Further, I would like to acknowledge the thoughtful comments of Gita Sahgal, Professors Bernie Bell, Sherry Colb, Claire Dickerson, Stephanie Farrior, Tanya Hernandez, Charles Jones, John Leubsdorf, Saul Mendlovitz, Twila Perry, Jim Pope, Sabrina Safrin, Calvin Sharpe, and Mark Weiner, and all of those who took part in the Rutgers Law School Faculty Colloquium. I am also indebted to participants in the symposium on Constitutional Reconstruction in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, held at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law in April 2005, who considered the earliest draft. This Article was supported by funding from the Dean's Research Fund at Rutgers School of Law-Newark. Remaining shortcomings are solely my responsibility. This Article is humbly dedicated to the memory of Dr. Mahfoud Bennoune.

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