Abstract

This research project seeks to understand the influence of French liberal feminist groups on support for laws which suppress religious expression, hinging upon the distinctly French principle of Laïcité. Laïcité has a treasured legal history and underwent a rhetorical repurposing in the late 20th century to focus on Islamic religious expression, leading to its current role as a neocolonial tool of oppression and forced homogenization. Liberal feminists engage in this colonial practice to allegedly liberate women facing patriarchal oppression. In answering the question of whether these groups are more likely insisting support for anti-Muslim suppression, this paper can shed light on one aspect of a tradition in which feminism is misappropriated and used to uplift a privileged group of women at the expense of another. This practice does not engage with the larger systems which oppress everyone, but instead vie for conditional acceptance into the hegemonic group.

Advisor

Leiby, Michelle

Second Advisor

Kilimo, Miriam

Department

Political Science; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Disciplines

Comparative Politics

Keywords

Laïcité, Republicanism, Headscarf, Islam, Patriarchy, Colonialism, Liberalism

Publication Date

2025

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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