Islamic dress in human rights jurisprudence: a critique of current trends

Anastasia Vakulenko

doi:10.1093/hrlr/ngm024

Islamic dress in human rights jurisprudence: a critique of current trends

Anastasia Vakulenko

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

48 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article highlights some of the discursive implications of framing the question of Islamic dress as one of religious rights. It is argued that the very construction of hijab issues as those of ‘religious identity’, sustained by the use of Article 9 of the ECHR as the primary legal basis for their resolution, has shaped a number of counterproductive trends. These are: avoiding difficult questions through a judicial technique of deference to local knowledge; using a language of choice to produce an obscure and unsatisfactory account of Muslim women's agency; false dichotomising of culture and gender; and producing an ever more docile and exposed subject through the subtle mechanisms of public scrutiny and moralising. Each trend is considered in turn. The article's arguments draw on the critical thought of Wendy Brown and post-colonial feminism. © The Author [2007]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	717-739
Number of pages	23
Journal	Human Rights Law Review
Volume	7
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/hrlr/ngm024
Publication status	Published - 2007

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 5 Gender Equality

Keywords

Human rights
Islamic dress
Religious rights

Access to Document

10.1093/hrlr/ngm024

Cite this

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title = "Islamic dress in human rights jurisprudence: a critique of current trends",

abstract = "This article highlights some of the discursive implications of framing the question of Islamic dress as one of religious rights. It is argued that the very construction of hijab issues as those of {\textquoteleft}religious identity{\textquoteright}, sustained by the use of Article 9 of the ECHR as the primary legal basis for their resolution, has shaped a number of counterproductive trends. These are: avoiding difficult questions through a judicial technique of deference to local knowledge; using a language of choice to produce an obscure and unsatisfactory account of Muslim women's agency; false dichotomising of culture and gender; and producing an ever more docile and exposed subject through the subtle mechanisms of public scrutiny and moralising. Each trend is considered in turn. The article's arguments draw on the critical thought of Wendy Brown and post-colonial feminism. {\textcopyright} The Author [2007]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.",

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AU - Vakulenko, Anastasia

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AB - This article highlights some of the discursive implications of framing the question of Islamic dress as one of religious rights. It is argued that the very construction of hijab issues as those of ‘religious identity’, sustained by the use of Article 9 of the ECHR as the primary legal basis for their resolution, has shaped a number of counterproductive trends. These are: avoiding difficult questions through a judicial technique of deference to local knowledge; using a language of choice to produce an obscure and unsatisfactory account of Muslim women's agency; false dichotomising of culture and gender; and producing an ever more docile and exposed subject through the subtle mechanisms of public scrutiny and moralising. Each trend is considered in turn. The article's arguments draw on the critical thought of Wendy Brown and post-colonial feminism. © The Author [2007]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

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KW - Religious rights

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DO - 10.1093/hrlr/ngm024

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EP - 739

JO - Human Rights Law Review

JF - Human Rights Law Review

IS - 4

ER -

Islamic dress in human rights jurisprudence: a critique of current trends

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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