Ni Putes Ni Soumises
Encyclopedia
Ni Putes Ni Soumises is a French feminist movement, founded in 2002, which has secured the recognition of the French press
and the National Assembly of France. It is generally dependent on public funding. It is also the name of a book written by Fadela Amara
, one of the leaders of the movement, with the help of Le Monde
journalist Sylvia Zappi.
Fadela Amara was appointed as junior minister for urban policy in François Fillon
's first government in May 2007. She left the government in 2010, and was named France's inspector general
for social affairs in January 2011.
NPNS was set up by a group of young French women, including Samira Bellil
, in response to the violence being directed at them in the suburbs (banlieues) and housing estate
s (cités) of cities such as Paris
, Lyon
and Toulouse
, where rape
and violence towards women have occurred at relatively high rates.
The movement fights against violence targeting women and it targets Gang-rapes as well as social pressures. Some have claimed that Muslim French girls face pressures to wear the hijab
, drop out of school, and marry
early without being able to choose the husband.
The slogan used by the movement is meant both to shock and mobilise. Members particularly protest against changes of attitudes toward women, claiming there is an increased influence of radical Islam in those French suburbs that are mostly inhabited by people of the "Islamic" Maghreb
[North Africa]. A particular concern is the treatment of Muslim
women
. Members claim that they may be pressured into wearing veils, leaving school, and marrying early. However, the movement represents women of all faiths and ethnic origins, all of whom may find themselves trapped by poverty and the ghetto
isation of the cités.
A translation of the key points of NPNS's national appeal on its official website:
, who published a book called Dans l'enfer des tournantes ("In Gang Rape Hell") in which she recounts her life as a girl under la loi des cités (the law of the housing estates) where she was gang rape
d on more than one occasion, the first time at age 13, afraid to speak out, and ultimately seen only as a sexual object, alienated and shunned by her family and some of her friends. The second case was that of 17-year-old Sohanne Benziane who was burned alive by an alleged small-time gang leader.
In the wake of these events, members of Ni Putes Ni Soumises staged a march through France, which started in February 2003 and passed through to over 20 cities before culminating in a 30,000-strong demonstration in Paris on March 8, 2003. The march was officially called la Marche des femmes des quartiers contre les ghettos et pour l'égalité (The March of Women from the housing estates
against ghetto
es and for equality).
Representatives of Ni Putes Ni Soumises were received by French Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin. Their message was also incorporated into the official celebrations of Bastille Day
2003 in Paris, when 14 giant posters each of a modern woman dressed as Marianne
, the symbol of the French Republic, were hung on the columns of the Palais Bourbon
, the home of the Assemblée nationale
(the lower house of the French parliament).
The following five propositions were accepted by the French government:
and left-wing authors (Sylvie Tissot, Elsa Dorlin, Étienne Balibar
, Houria Bouteldja, etc.), who claimed that it overshadowed the work of other feminist NGOs and that it supported an Islamophobic
instrumentalization of feminism by the French Right.
Houria Bouteldja qualified Ni Putes ni Soumises as an Ideological State Apparatus (AIE). The debate among the French Left concerning the 2004 law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
, mainly targeted against the hijab
, is to be seen under this light. They underline that, first, sexism is not a specificity of immigrant populations, as if French culture itself was devoid of sexism, and second, that the focus on mediatic and violent acts passes under silence the precarization of women.
Sylvie Tissot writes that Amara collaborated with the Cercle de l'Oratoire
(a think-tank which supported the US invasion of Iraq), and Mohammed Abdi, the current president of the NGO, is a member of this think-tank.
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
and the National Assembly of France. It is generally dependent on public funding. It is also the name of a book written by Fadela Amara
Fadela Amara
Fadéla Amara, also known as Fatiha Amara is a French feminist and politician, who began her political life as an advocate for women in the impoverished banlieues. She was the Secretary of State for Urban Policies in the conservative Union for a Popular Movement government of French Prime Minister...
, one of the leaders of the movement, with the help of Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
journalist Sylvia Zappi.
Fadela Amara was appointed as junior minister for urban policy in François Fillon
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...
's first government in May 2007. She left the government in 2010, and was named France's inspector general
Inspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
for social affairs in January 2011.
NPNS was set up by a group of young French women, including Samira Bellil
Samira Bellil
Samira Bellil was a French feminist activist and a campaigner for the rights of girls and women.Bellil became famous in France with the publication of her autobiographical book Dans l'enfer des tournantes in 2002...
, in response to the violence being directed at them in the suburbs (banlieues) and housing estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
s (cités) of cities such as Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
and Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, where rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and violence towards women have occurred at relatively high rates.
Goals
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
, drop out of school, and marry
Forced marriage
Forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will...
early without being able to choose the husband.
The slogan used by the movement is meant both to shock and mobilise. Members particularly protest against changes of attitudes toward women, claiming there is an increased influence of radical Islam in those French suburbs that are mostly inhabited by people of the "Islamic" Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
[North Africa]. A particular concern is the treatment of Muslim
Islam in France
Islam is the second most widely practiced religion in France by number of worshippers, with an estimated total of 5 to 10 percent of the national population.-Statistics:...
women
Women in Islam
The study of women in Islam investigates the role of women within the religion of Islam. The complex relationship between women and Islam is defined by Islamic texts, the history and culture of the Muslim world...
. Members claim that they may be pressured into wearing veils, leaving school, and marrying early. However, the movement represents women of all faiths and ethnic origins, all of whom may find themselves trapped by poverty and the ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
isation of the cités.
A translation of the key points of NPNS's national appeal on its official website:
- No more moralising: our condition has worsened. The media and politics have done nothing, or very little, for us.
- No more wretchedness. We are fed up with people speaking for us, with being treated with contempt.
- No more justifications of our oppression in the name of the right to be different and of respect toward those who force us to bow our heads.
- No more silence in public debates about violence, poverty and discrimination.
Early history
Two high-profile cases gave a particular impetus to NPNS during 2003. The first was that of Samira BellilSamira Bellil
Samira Bellil was a French feminist activist and a campaigner for the rights of girls and women.Bellil became famous in France with the publication of her autobiographical book Dans l'enfer des tournantes in 2002...
, who published a book called Dans l'enfer des tournantes ("In Gang Rape Hell") in which she recounts her life as a girl under la loi des cités (the law of the housing estates) where she was gang rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d on more than one occasion, the first time at age 13, afraid to speak out, and ultimately seen only as a sexual object, alienated and shunned by her family and some of her friends. The second case was that of 17-year-old Sohanne Benziane who was burned alive by an alleged small-time gang leader.
In the wake of these events, members of Ni Putes Ni Soumises staged a march through France, which started in February 2003 and passed through to over 20 cities before culminating in a 30,000-strong demonstration in Paris on March 8, 2003. The march was officially called la Marche des femmes des quartiers contre les ghettos et pour l'égalité (The March of Women from the housing estates
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
against ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
es and for equality).
Representatives of Ni Putes Ni Soumises were received by French Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin. Their message was also incorporated into the official celebrations of Bastille Day
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
2003 in Paris, when 14 giant posters each of a modern woman dressed as Marianne
Marianne
Marianne is a national emblem of France and an allegory of Liberty and Reason. She represents the state and values of France, differently from another French cultural symbol, the "Coq Gaulois" which represents France as a nation and its history, land, culture, and variety of sport disciplines in...
, the symbol of the French Republic, were hung on the columns of the Palais Bourbon
Palais Bourbon
The Palais Bourbon, , a palace located on the left bank of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concorde, Paris , is the seat of the French National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French government.-History:...
, the home of the Assemblée nationale
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
(the lower house of the French parliament).
The following five propositions were accepted by the French government:
- The publication of an educational guide dealing with respect, to be distributed in the housing projects and schools.
- The establishment of safe houseSafe houseIn the jargon of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a safe house is a secure location, suitable for hiding witnesses, agents or other persons perceived as being in danger...
s away from the housing estates for girls and women in immediate distress, where they can be safe in relative anonymity. - The creation of six pilot sites where women will be able to have their voices heard.
- The organisation of training seminars for women to develop their particular strengths.
- Special provisions made in police stations for girls and women who have been the victims of violence.
Criticisms
Ni Putes Ni Soumises has been criticized by various French feministsFeminism in France
Feminism in France has its origins in the French Revolution. A few famous figures emerged during the 1871 Paris Commune, including Louise Michel, Russian-born Elisabeth Dmitrieff, Nathalie Lemel, and Renée Vivien .-French Revolution:...
and left-wing authors (Sylvie Tissot, Elsa Dorlin, Étienne Balibar
Étienne Balibar
Étienne Balibar is a French Marxist philosopher. After the death of his teacher Louis Althusser, Balibar quickly became the leading exponent of French Marxist philosophy.- Life and work :...
, Houria Bouteldja, etc.), who claimed that it overshadowed the work of other feminist NGOs and that it supported an Islamophobic
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
instrumentalization of feminism by the French Right.
Houria Bouteldja qualified Ni Putes ni Soumises as an Ideological State Apparatus (AIE). The debate among the French Left concerning the 2004 law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools bans wearing conspicuous religious symbols in French public primary and secondary schools...
, mainly targeted against the hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
, is to be seen under this light. They underline that, first, sexism is not a specificity of immigrant populations, as if French culture itself was devoid of sexism, and second, that the focus on mediatic and violent acts passes under silence the precarization of women.
Sylvie Tissot writes that Amara collaborated with the Cercle de l'Oratoire
Cercle de l'Oratoire
The Cercle de l'Oratoire is a French think tank created a short time after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Since 2006, it edits a journal, Le Meilleur des mondes...
(a think-tank which supported the US invasion of Iraq), and Mohammed Abdi, the current president of the NGO, is a member of this think-tank.
See also
- Violence against womenViolence against womenViolence against women is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women...
- Islam and domestic violenceIslam and domestic violenceThe relationship between Islam and domestic violence is disputed. Even among Muslims, the uses and interpretations of shari’a, the moral code and religious law of Islam, lack consensus....
- Women in IslamWomen in IslamThe study of women in Islam investigates the role of women within the religion of Islam. The complex relationship between women and Islam is defined by Islamic texts, the history and culture of the Muslim world...
- Social situation in the French suburbsSocial situation in the French suburbsOutside of Paris are large blocks of government-built public housing, known as banlieues. The banlieues house hundreds of thousands of individuals of North African descent...