A/72/155 79. Many fundamentalist or extremist dress codes for women represent a process of radical change, rather than the preservation of tradition. Some of the more restrictive garments purveyed by fundamentalists today are themselves an assault on the pre-existing cultural status quo. Such clothing is sometimes not indigenous or traditional dress. For example, in West Africa, where women traditionally wear colourful boubous, fundamentalists seek to impose hijabs and niqabs, often in dark colours. 80. Women who cover are not to blame for the broader political context and have faced discrimination and violence themselves in recent years, inspired, in particular, by far right and racist extremists in the West, 72 a matter which is also of grave concern to the Special Rapporteur and that requires urgent attention. It is possible to defend the fundamental human rights of those who veil to be free from violence and discrimination, while critiquing the cultural engineering that has relentlessly promoted the covering of women. Only then, in many contexts, will women truly be able to make free cultural choices about the way they dress. C. Attacks against others based on their perceived or assumed “difference” 81. Fundamentalist and extremist assaults on minorities, including minority women, and on their cultural sites and practices have become widespread around the world, including attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh and against Coptic Christians in Egypt. The incidents range in severity from hate speech to genocide. Such attacks have a particular impact on women, who are often seen to symbolize minority groups. In India, with the rise of Hindu fundamentalism, the Muslim minority is increasingly described as “under siege … in the face of cultural re-visioning that seeks to delegitimise their rich history, traditional diet and livelihood”, resulting in women being rendered more vulnerable. 73 Laws that treat minorities differently with regard to their cultural practices create an environment that facilitates attacks. For example, in Myanmar, laws require Rohingya Muslims to obtain government permission to marry. 74 82. There has been a significant rise in hate speech and hate violence in the United States of America since the 2016 presidential elections, targeting inter alia, women, including immigrant and minority women. 75 The perpetrators of such incidents often specifically referenced the President or his rhetoric. On 26 May 2017, in Portland, Oregon, a far-right extremist and white supremacist shouted hate speech at two young Muslim women in hijab, then murdered two young male bystanders who came to their defence. 76 83. Australian Lawyers for Human Rights expressed its concern about the “mainstreaming of fundamentalist and extremist ideas in Australian public discourse” along with a “rise in populist ultranationalism”, which, in its view, produces attempts to “legitimize … the imposing of an ‘authentic Australian culture’ on women”, especially those from diverse ethnic backgrounds. 77 __________________ 72 73 74 75 76 77 18/23 The submission from the Human Rights Center, University of Minnesota, among other submissions, provides examples thereof. Confidential submission from Indian civil society. Submission from Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (also known as ARROW). Submission from the Human Rights Center, University of Minnesota . Amy B Wang, “‘Final act of bravery’: men who were fatally stabbed trying to stop anti-Muslim rants identified”, Washington Post, 27 May 2017. Submission from Australian Lawyers for Human Rights. 17-12043