Her name is Nouha. She is 22 years old. She is of Algerian descent. A student at HEC Montreal, she found herself despite herself in the middle of yet another controversy over the wearing of the veil when her photo appeared on the home page of her university.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
I wanted to talk to this student after seeing the former leader of the Parti Québécois Jean-François Lisée virulently denounce on Twitter the publication of his photo by HEC Montréal. According to him, by broadcasting the photo of a veiled woman, the University “chose a misogynistic religious sign (meaning modesty and submission of women) to recruit female students from Algeria”.
PHOTO FROM THE HEC MONTRÉAL WEBSITE
Nouha, student, appears on the home page of the HEC Montréal website.
Gone are the days when this same Jean-François Lisée, worrying about a populist management of the debate on religious accommodation, wrote: “The veil? Frankly, I got used to it and what you put on your head shouldn’t raise national ire1. From now on, the simple fact that the photo of a veiled student is published on the site of a university seems to him like heresy. He sees in it a normalization of the hijab, unacceptable on the part of a secular and pro-gender equality public establishment, as well as a lack of solidarity with regard to young Algerian women who do not want to wear the veil.
What does the girl in the photo think? She was very hesitant to grant me an interview, knowing that her nuanced remarks risked attracting criticism from all sides. Unnecessary stress when she wants to focus on her studies.
“I don’t really want to say what will please people. If I speak, it is to say what I want to say. This may not please either those who criticize me or those who defend me. »
What Nouha, a leading woman who does not exactly have the profile of a submissive woman, says is a bit like what journalist Kenza Bennis said at the end of her courageous investigation into the hijab The Veil Monologues (Robert Laffont, 2017): “the” veiled woman does not exist. There are “veiled” women who live different realities2.
“Obviously there are women who are forced to wear the veil, otherwise they risk their lives. I’m against that,” the student, who has always considered herself a feminist, tells me straight away.
“But there are also women who have chosen to wear the veil like me,” she adds. It is a personal choice, by religious conviction, that no one imposed on her and that she does not impose on anyone.
In my family, there are several women who do not wear it. My grandmother never wore it. My aunt doesn’t wear it. I chose to wear it…
Nouha, student at HEC Montreal
A sign of submission? ” Nope. At no time do I find it a symbol that diminishes the value of women. Me, personally, I consider myself a super strong woman. In a few years, I will be the manager of an entire team. I can’t see myself as a weak person! »
I pointed out to Nouha that it is precisely because she translates the complexity of a question that is too often simplified and exploited that it is interesting that she speaks, rather than letting paternalistic commentators speak to her square.
The student explains to me that she agreed to have her photo published on the HEC Montréal website mainly to tell girls who wear the veil that they don’t have to fear being victims of discrimination there.
It was something she herself feared before arriving in the country in November 2020. In June 2021, the ramming truck attack in London, Ontario, which mowed down four members of the same Muslim family, n did nothing to reassure her.
“I was a little afraid with all that of being discriminated against. »
In the end, there was more fear than harm. While studying at HEC Montreal, she discovered a very inclusive and very respectful Montreal. “At no time did I experience any discrimination or lack of respect. »
It is therefore to reassure students who may have the same fears that she accepted (without any remuneration) that her photo be published on her university’s website.
The publication in no way encourages Algerian girls to wear headscarves. It simply highlights a minority. They are just told that there is a place for them.
Nouha, student at HEC Montreal
This was also the goal of HEC Montréal: simply to reflect the diversity of its student population, confirms its spokesperson, specifying that the photo of the home page of its website, which changes every two weeks, does not is not an advertisement.
That said, Nouha understands and respects those who see things differently. “We must not forget that we are in a country which is very clear on secularism. I understand that the school must remain really neutral. But my point of view is that it is also important to put people from minorities forward. Because these minorities are looking for a place where they feel comfortable. Someone in Algiers doesn’t know how things are in Montreal…”
Seeing someone who looks like him, regardless of origin or religion, allows you to project yourself into a society capable of being both secular and inclusive.
To use the words of Jean-François Lisée in 2007, there is frankly nothing to arouse national ire.
1. The quote is taken from the essay We by Jean-François Lisée (Boréal, 2007).