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The public-housing projects of French suburbs are filled with Arab Muslims, most of whose families were originally from North Africa. Muslims from other African nations have also settled in France, but the bulk of French Muslims trace their roots to Morocco, Algeria, or Tunisia. On average, North Africans have struggled in France; Muslims represent not quite 10 percent of the nation, but half of France's prison population. Some observers compare the circumstances of French Arabs to those of African Americans in the slums of northern U.S. cities in the 1960s and 1970s.
Muslim schoolgirls were at the forefront of a recent public debate over the right to wear headscarves in public schools. The controversy about the nature of secularism in France evolved into a national conversation on multiculturalism, particularly the role of Islam. As French citizens, Muslim women have equal rights -- a law banning the headscarf in schools also applies to other religious items such as crucifixes and yarmulkes -- and some have thrived academically and professionally. Yet equal protection under the law does not always translate into safety. Rates of violence against women, particularly rape, are disproportionately high in Muslim neighborhoods; victims are likely to be blamed for bringing dishonor to their families, so most rapes go unreported. (Some Muslim women wear the headscarf in hopes of escaping the attention of rapists.) Gang rapes are commonplace.
Samira Bellil, whose grandparents immigrated to France from Algeria, was repeatedly gang raped by acquaintances when she was a teenager in the late 1980s. She explained in an interview with 60 MINUTES, "I couldn't say anything, because in my culture, your family is dishonored if you lose your virginity." Her suspicions were confirmed when her family, upon learning of the rapes, threw her out of their home. Bellil published a book about her experience and became a leading activist in protecting women from violence. She was recently one of 14 women from France's projects to be honored by the French government, which hung her portrait outside of the parliament building.
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Briefing
Read an essay about the unique challenges faced by Arab-Israeli women.
Photo Essay
Take a look at women-run cooperatives around the world.
Filmmaker Notes
Go behind the scenes with director Dalit Kimor.
Global Gender Balance
Find out which countries have the best political gender balance.
The Middle East (2003)
Learn about the politics, population, and history of the Middle East.
Muslim Populations
Examine the numbers of Muslims throughout the world and in the West.
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