Thanks to Covid-19, covering one’s face has become the fashion trend. With many countries enforcing face masks/coverings in order to prevent the spread of the virus also known as the Coronavirus, it has become commonplace to see people in the public space with only their eyes showing. Not wearing a mask, in fact, will bring dirty looks, questions and even fines: people without a mask are even barred from certain places like buses.
Only a short few weeks ago, the complete opposite would have happened. Obscuring the face is considered antisocial, improper, mysterious, even dangerous. Muslim women who wear the niqab or burqa know this all too well: despite everything that has been said on the topic, they continue to face laws, regulations and negative responses wherever they go. They’ve been told they can’t go about the public space in their garments-which are worn for religiously-interpreted reasons-for a variety of reasons, most of which are used as an excuse for the fact that the legislating government is simply xenophobic/Islamophobic (or, in the case of Muslim-majority governments, afraid of extremists).
And yet not the tide has turned, with every member of society hiding their nose and mouth by any means possible in order to avoid contracting the Coronavirus. It’s no longer considered weird or anti-social for people to cover their faces, hands and bodies by all sorts of fashion contraptions. Opponents of the niqab and burqa would undoubtedly argue: but this is in the name of public safety! This is a pandemic! The normal social rules cannot apply, but it doesn’t mean our values have changed!
Yes, people aren’t suddenly running around with makeshift plastic bottle gas masks on their heads because of a new social value or religious reason. They’re doing it to save their life. But the sudden obfuscation of the human face as a necessity pokes holes in the flimsy excuse of “society and safety” that otherwise veils the anti-Islam rationale behind banning niqabs and burqas.
Public safety? Well, have there been increases in robbery and other crimes because everyone is walking around masked? Are the banks that are still open stopping people at the door? Has there been an influx of mistaken identities? Can we not easily recognize neighbors, fellow workers, friends and family from behind the mask? Are we asking people to produce their ID cards?
Are we all suddenly incapable of doing our jobs, public sector or otherwise, because we have to speak from behind a piece of cloth or plastic? Are we incapable of running or playing socially-distanced sports with our mouths covered? Is it unsafe to take public transportation now because I cannot properly discern the face of the stranger standing or sitting next to me?
Were schools and universities reopened, would it be impossible for students to pay attention to their lectures if the professor wore a mask? Does wearing a face mask themselves impede their learning and distract their classmates? Will government buildings such as courts burn down if a masked person roams the premises? Will it be a burden on police to ask people to lower their face coverings? Will face masks prevent drivers from seeing clearly on the road? Will doctors not be able to treat patients with the same dignity and respect?
Is it unacceptable to go out in public covering one’s face? Will life in the community be destroyed by a sea of masked citizens? Will our traditional cultures be destroyed by veiling the face? Is this the end of civilization, if we (temporarily) cannot see a smile? Do our eyes not suffice?
The answer to all of the above is no. Life carries on now, even with our limited mobility, while we are masked. Life will continue on once places are reopened, even if we are required or it is suggested to continue wearing masks. Thus the reasons ostensibly given by national and local governments from France to Tajikistan to Canada for banning burqas and niqabs are completely moot. Combatting so-called Islamic extremism is the only rationale that one could consider weighing merit to (besides, perhaps, public safety in select situations), and even then it is presumptive. Interestingly enough, this rationale is usually the one given in Muslim-majority countries that have taken to restricting face-veils.
The Covid-19 pandemic is proving that covering one’s face does not lead to the destruction of the social fabric and society as we know it. Yet despite this, the niqab and burqa bans are unlikely to be rescinded once the pandemic dies down. Because no matter what rationale a government uses to prop up their unjust laws, and no matter how many face coverings they include in said laws-be they motorcycle helmets, carnival masks or the like- the bottom line is that these bans are Islamophobic. The challenge now is to use the wearing of face masks during this pandemic to force governments to at least own up to the real reasons behind these laws and to be publicly shamed into admitting their bias and prejudice.