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‘My “Veil” Does Not Go With My Jeans’: Veiling, Fundamentalism, Education and Women's Agency in Northern Cameroon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2011

José C. M. van Santen
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Abstract

This article demonstrates that the struggle over the Muslim ‘veil’ in public schools, which is related to tensions between the norms of secular democracy and principles of religious tolerance, has also become a topic of debate in Cameroon. I take the life of a young woman, Maimouna, whose life I have followed for 22 years, as a point of departure, and place it in the historical and social contexts of her society. I try not only to negotiate presuppositions about women and Islam in order to challenge notions of Muslim women as a homogeneous category, but also to challenge the automatic association of Islam, fundamentalism and the debate on veiling. In this debate it is often taken for granted that women have no say over their own lives. I show not only that the wishes of diverse groups of women living in Muslim societies may vary, but also that in a single woman's life her views may change. I explore how aspects of the new fundamentalist discourse (in which education for women is of importance) – against a background in which political and religious leaders, as in the past, cooperate closely – come to the fore in the subject of veiling. Religious and political councils initiate the foundation of private Islamic schools that are built with money from Saudi Arabian NGOs. In these schools women may wear headgear, which they have to take off in public schools in accordance with the laic prescriptions of Cameroon's constitution. The incessant change of views on veiling is linked to local, national and international contexts, but in a different way at each level. The story of Maimouna indicates that modernity is gendered. In the fundamentalist discourse in Cameroon in which veiling has acquired significance, men opt for another type of school where veiling is allowed, while women opt for education.

Cet article démontre que les conflits relatifs au port du « voile » islamique dans les écoles publiques, qui sont liés à des tensions entre normes de démocratie laïque et principes de tolérance religieuse, sont également devenus un sujet de débat au Cameroun. Il prend pour point de départ le cas d'une jeune femme, Maimouna, dont l'auteur a suivi l'existence depuis 22 ans, et le place dans les contextes historique et social de la société de Maimouna. Il tente non seulement de négocier les présuppositions concernant les femmes et l'islam pour remettre en question la notion de femmes musulmanes en tant que catégorie homogène, mais également de remettre en cause l'association automatique de l'islam, du fondamentalisme et du débat sur le port du voile. Dans ce débat, on s'imagine souvent que les femmes n'ont pas leur mot à dire. L'article montre qu'au sein des sociétés musulmanes différents groupes de femmes peuvent avoir des désirs divergents, mais également qu'une femme peut changer d'avis au cours de son existence. Il explore des aspects du nouveau discours fondamentaliste (dans lequel l’éducation des femmes a son importance) pour voir comment ils ressortent au sujet du port du voile, dans un contexte dans lequel les chefs politiques et religieux coopèrent étroitement, comme par le passé. Les conseils religieux et politiques prennent l'initiative de créer des écoles islamiques privées construites grâce à des fonds émanant d'ONG d'Arabie Saoudite. Les femmes peuvent porter un foulard dans ces écoles, mais elles doivent l'enlever dans les écoles publiques conformément aux prescriptions laïques de la Constitution camerounaise. Les incessants changements d'opinion sur le port du voile sont liés à des contextes locaux, nationaux et internationaux, mais de manière différente à chacun de ces niveaux. L'histoire de Maimouna indique que la modernité est sexuée. Au Cameroun, dans le discours fondamentaliste au sein duquel le port du voile a pris de l'importance, les hommes optent pour un autre type d’école autorisant le port du voile, tandis que les femmes optent pour l’éducation.

Type
Research Articles
Information
Africa , Volume 80 , Issue 2 , May 2010 , pp. 275 - 300
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2010

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