14th July 2010, 6:53 PM
Fittisize Wrote:But there is a definite connection between the burqua and and the wearer being somebody's personal property. Sometimes, but not always (veiling is cumpolsory only in Iran, Saudia Arabia, and Afghanistan, and the burqua only mandatory in Afghanistan), it's absolutely a sign of patriarchal oppression. But banning it outright doesn't do much to solve the problem. It's not as if women who were forbidden to appear in public without the burqa will all of a sudden be fully liberated an allowed to walk down the street in regular clothes. In these cases, women will only be further oppressed by their extremist families and culture. Likely, they won't even be allowed to leave the house. Wearing the burqa or not wearing the burqua shouldn't matter - being forced one way or the other is where the problem lies. Banning the burqua, which is such an overt religous symbol and in particular intrinsically linked to Muslim women is incredibly Islamophobic and sexist. It's a pro-Western attack on Islam where women are being used for political purposes. The focus should be on promoting anti-sexism and a society tolerant of different cultures which isn't happening in France.
I was once for "banning it", Its when i saw a documentary about gay Muslims that I've had a change of heart ,The doc recorded openly lesbian Muslim women or even tolerant liberal minded Muslim women marching on gay pride day, Those women wore veils and even burqas to conceal their identity out of concern for their own safety, That was the one instance were covering the face actually served to protect them rather then oppress them.
The veil or burqa , Shouldn't be banned, All they needed was laws to punish men who force women into waring them.
They should be allowed to ware it outdoors, I'd only require them to uncover their face when entering a public building or when asked for ID.