¿El uso de hiyab puede ser liberador?

Abstract

The objective of this text is to study the relation between liberal democracies and the cultural and gender identities that appear in the public sphere. The starting point is to analyze the use of the Islamic Veil, Hiyab, as an element for women’s resistance in the liberal public sphere. This article begins developing the premise that the public sphere is not culturally neutral. Later on, elaborates a discussion about the different visions of justice and public sphere, in which multiculturalism and Human Rights are put together. Finally, it is stablished that the liberal State should guarantee diverse mechanisms for cultural expression. Therefore, this article proposes to understand cultures as changing structures. This way, all members of the cultural communities are protected while the public sphere is enriched.