The answer is pretty simple; they should be banned everywhere. Whilst agreeing to an extent with people who say that the government has no right to dictate to its citizens what they do or do not wear, their lack of perspective on the issue is astounding. Anyone who is suggesting that wearing a burqa empowers a woman clearly has no idea of the situation in many middle eastern and south asian countries, countries like Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan were any woman not completely covering themselves head to toe risks public flogging or worse. Has does the burqa empower these women? It doesn’t, it confirms and compounds their place as second class citizens within their own societies. Not only this, but the lack of public identity women have only goes to deny them the chance to change this and achieve anything approaching equality.
It is depressing that so many supposed liberals in this country feel the need to devote so much time to supporting women’s rights to wear the burqa in this country but none to the rights of women in countries across the middle east to not wear it without the threat of physical recrimination from the state. The denial of fully half the population from public life and the restriction of their basic right to live a life not having to hide away is an affront to all humans, and should be recognised as such; instead people people turn their back on these women supposedly in the name of ‘protecting’ diversity. The fact that so many of the people writing against the prohibition of the burqa are women is especially shocking; they clearly have zero fidelity with their fellow women being suppressed in other countries.
Any belief system which requires people to cover themselves and hide away from other people is clearly flawed. The burqa was born of misogyny and bigotry and continues to reinforce them. It does not ‘empower’ women, it is a clear indication of their position as second class citizens and should be opposed worldwide, not just in Britain
Sunday 25 July 2010
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