I'd come across an article in 'The Economist' recently covering the ongoing furor over what Muslim women abroad are ALLOWED to wear (specifically, in Europe), and it got me to thinking. According to the article France, some German states, Belgian towns and Turkey (a mostly Muslim country) have banned the wearing of the face-covering burka and accompanying niqab in most public places. The "justification" for the ban are four-fold: legislation calling for the ban state that 1)it oppresses Muslim women in that the veil is supposedly worn at the behest of Muslim men, 2) its "separatist" with regard to Muslim integration into the non-Muslim world, 3)it is an affront to secular society because it is considered a religious symbol AND 4)it can be intimidating- especially in this climate of terrorism. The Dutch are also currently mulling a law to outlaw the wearing of the burka in public.
Thank God we live in the United States, where we can wear whatever we damn well please (at least for NOW, ACLU!) Currently, American women only have to to worry about how and where to acquire their Birkin bags, and don't have to worry about burka bans...
1 comment:
I doubt that the European ban spells progress for freedom, but the U.S. is at least progressive enough to allow us a choice.
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