Inquirer apologizes for labeling Muslim woman 'security risk'

The Philippine Daily Inquirer has apologized for a lead-in caption that labeled a Muslim woman in a front-page photo wearing a traditional dress a "Security Risk?" last May 9, saying “sorry to those who have taken offense over the caption head.” 

The photo was taken during the swearing-in of the new members of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Legislative Assembly at Malacañang Palace.   

The Inquirer photo shows President Benigno Aquino III shaking the hand of a woman wearing a niqab, a traditional Muslim garb that covers nearly the entire body, including the face. The eyes are visible through an opening in the facial cover.  The outfit has been misidentified in other media reports as a burka, a similar traditional dress except that there is a mesh covering the eyes. 

 

According to a statement released by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), the woman in the photo is the wife of a top Muslim official in the Aquino administration and is the mother of one of the Regional Assemblymen who was sworn in that day. Neither the woman nor her relatives in government have been identified. 

 

In addition to the apology, the Inquirer published in full the letters of concern sent by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and the Philippine Center for Photojournalism (PCP).  

 

Lapse in judgment

 

A quick look into the Philippine Daily Inquirer Stylebook confirms that the Inquirer may have had a lapse in judgment in running the photo with the caption in question. 

 

In a section entitled “Canons of Taste for Journalists,” it instructs Inquirer journalists to “avoid language that perpetuates racial stereotypes or is offensive to certain races” and to also “avoid language that denigrates certain religions.”

 

In the matter of deciding which photos to publish, the same stylebook advises Inquirer editors to ask themselves what readers “are likely to add or read into their interpretation of the photo’s content.” 

 

NCMF expressed its disappointment, saying that “the discriminative and derogatory caption was unnecessary, and merely stokes the embers of distrust that have long made it difficult for agencies like the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos to bridge the divide between the majority Christians and minority Muslims in this country.”

 

Media groups react

 

Media groups were quick to respond to this faux pas, among them the NUJP and the PCP who both released statements regarding the photo. 

 

NUJP said it is disturbed that the Inquirer ran “such a blatantly bigoted caption.” The group also noted that “because of the caption writer’s irresponsibility, the blame might be unfairly laid on the photographer whose byline accompanies the photograph.” 

 

On a similar note, the PCP described the caption as “uncalled for, insensitive and even libelous.” 

 

A later version of the broadsheet carried a lead-in caption that said “Palace Guest” instead of “Security Risk?”

 

Burqa, niqab

 

“Although the burqa is frowned upon in some Western societies, it remains part of the culture of Islamic societies. We believe labeling a dress a security risk does not take into account the nuances of Islamic culture. It is also an affront to the minority Muslim population of this country that a symbol of Muslim culture is labeled outright a security risk and further fuels the stereotyping of our Muslim brothers as terrorists,” the PCP said in a statement signed by its chairman, Fernando Sepe, Jr.

 

Articles of clothing worn by Muslim women have also been a subject of debate in other countries, including the niqab worn by the woman in the Inquirer photo.

 

Last April 2011, France passed a law effectively banning women from wearing face-covering garments in public. 

 

While the law makes no mention of Islam, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been quoted as saying that "the burqa is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience," and that it “will not be welcome in the territory of the French republic.” 

 

A number of Muslim nations such as Tunisia and Turkey have also banned the burqa in schools and government buildings, following the premise of gender equality. 

 

In 2010, Australian Liberal Senator Cori Bernardi made a similar call to ban the burqa in Australia, describing it as “un-Australian.” It is still legal there. –KG/HS, GMA News