In his speech delivered at the University of Cairo and intended to bring about the reconciliation of the United States and the Arab-Islamic world, the American President defended the Islamic veil three times. According to him, the veil is not a sign of inequality.

What an immense slap in the face for the women in Algeria, Iran or Afghanistan who have died in atrocious conditions as a consequence of their refusal to wear what they considered to be the most radical sign of women’s oppression and of segregation between men and women.

Human societies are built on symbols. Positive symbols like the colors of a flag, a song of emancipation, the form of a monument, of a pyramid or of the Eiffel Tower! Negative symbols like the uniform worn by a convict, the black armband that represents mourning or the veil behind which the women of Saudi Arabia are rendered invisible.

“Voluntarily” wearing an item of clothing that is a legal obligation imposed on women in an entire region of the world and that signifies their second class status, represents a form of allegiance to the ruling theocracies in the region. (Aspects of this second class status include polygamy, a lesser weight in legal proceedings, unequal inheritance, and the absence of freedom of movement.) The veil is not just a religious symbol like any other religious symbol. To say that one wears the veil voluntarily does not efface the humiliation that it signifies for all women.

Is the self-evident meaning of this symbol too difficult to understand for the president of a country that fancies itself a model of democracy? Or is it that President Obama wants to achieve reconciliation with the Muslim world on the backs of women?

Annie Sugier is the President of La Ligue du Droit International des Femmes [The League of Women’s International Law], which was created by Simone de Beauvoir, and a member of the Simone de Beauvoir Prize committee.