ENoMW Statement
The European Network of Migrant Women feels compelled to address the debate on the burka, asserting that it is widely recognised as a symbol and instrument of control tied to systems that restrict women’s autonomy, visibility, and participation in society. This practice is not about personal choice but represents a form of Male Violence against Women that reduces them to objects without individual human characteristics, nonetheless demarcated by sex and religion. By depriving women of individual identity, the burka sends a clear public signal that it is permissible to treat women and girls as objects of control.
Framing the burka as a matter of “choice” overlooks the patriarchal and misogynistic power structures driving the systematic erasure and silencing of women. Furthermore, the Quran does not prescribe the burka, and respect for religion does not require the acceptance of practices that undermine the fundamental principles of equality and individual freedom. The normalisation of such practices, as seen in systems that restrict women’s access to public life in Afghanistan, demonstrates how they become embedded in broader systems of control.
Consequently, European societies must ground their conversations in a commitment to human rights and dignity, ensuring that neither culture nor religion serves as a shield for practices that undermine fundamental values. Ultimately, no cultural or religious justification should ever excuse forms of oppression or violence that limit women’s human rights, freedoms, and autonomy.
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