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Originally Posted by Nefeli
if the banning was to "help" those women to get rid of it..
but, have no idea which % of women really want to get rid of their burqa, but maybe they dont even know themselves, since never had the privillege of choice.
never agree with banning, probably in this occassion either.
fanatism is always scary and i m in notlisteningmode on flipflop comments.
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I find the notion that women wearing the burqa are 'forced' into it by 'male opressors' somewhat distasteful.
The burqa isn't, as many assume, a religious obligation - many Muslim countries don't observe it at all, and as far as I'm concerned, it is a choice in a secular society (such as Britain) and an observation of a cultural norm in Muslim societies (that is, the societies which observe it). I know one lady who wears the Burqa from time to time, and she does really enjoy wearing it. I would say she is far from being a battered fishwife, and is probably one of the most confident women I know. She feels very comfortable in a burqa, and I don't think it's fair for anyone to suggest that
every woman who wears a burqa is being intimidated by the male oppressors.
Personally, I don't like the burqas. I don't mind headscarves, but not being able to see someone's facial expressions is something I find disconcerting. In the recent (British) instance of a teaching assistant being ordered to remove her burqa while teaching, I side with the teaching authorities, although so far as I can make out the story has, predictably, been blown entirely out of all proportion. Like many people here though, I defend anyone's personal choice to wear what they like. I often wear t-shirts which may be considered offensive (particularly the one which says, "I am a CUNT"), and I think that's a lot more offensive than a burqa. I generally wear it under a shirt, unless there's a particular ocassion where I know no-one is going to take massive offense. However, if I were to wear it in a shopping centre with kids around, I think I would be right to be arrested for obscenity. The thing with the burqa is that it is disconcerting, but I don't think that it is in any way offensive, unless the secular societies which serve to prohibit the choice to wear the burqa find any 'different' trends or fashion to be offensive, which is certainly very unlikely (in what I know of Europe, anyway).