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Should Burqa's Be Banned?

It is a conundrum.

As a feminist I feel a level of ambivalence towards to the Burqa which I find difficult to reconcile.

On one hand, I know many Muslim women, born and raised in the UK, who have made a choice to be fully veiled. Personally, I am not a fan of the Burqa. On a practical level it creates a barrier between the wearer and the rest of society and can have a significant impact on life chances and life choices. However, the women I know have made that choice and they make that choice for a number of reasons, and, be they political or religious surely it is no-ones business if they have chosen such a restrictive attire? As a feminist I fully support another women ability to choose what she wants to wear, and do not need, want or desire any women to have to conform to a community ideal of dress, be it religious or non-religious in nature.

So far, so freedom of choice.

On the other hand, we are all aware of the fact that in many patriarchal Muslim societies and in some homes in the West, wearing a Burqa is not a choice. It is a uniform of purity and piousness that the men in the house use as a means of control and for the subjugation of the females in the family. Not good. Not good at all. As a feminist I want these women to be able to make choices about their apparel, in the same way I can, and all those around me can. For those women banning the Burqa may mean they never leave their houses again, purity and piousness is the name of the game after all. But if we do not challenge the patriarchal power structure at the root of this veiling how will things ever change?

Ban the Burqa and take away a woman's choice?

Ban the Burqa and help promote a woman's freedom?

Told you it was a conundrum!

Thoughts?

Up is up. Down is down. Rain is wet.

Anti-Gay Baptist Preacher Resigns from Church After "Being with Prostitutes"

Priorities. Priorities.

Picture of a very English Practice

Oh Goody - Scurvy 2019 Here We Come!

Republicans rob everyone the opportunity of real policy debate by resorting to this.

Who determines what is sin?

Who gives anyone the right to condemn the actions of another if those actions are not going to cause harm to a third party? Think about it. In some cultures, a woman flashing an ankle is sinful, elsewhere albinos are from the devil. It is sinful to drink in some cultures, sinful to get an education if you are a girl in others. In some places it is sinful to choose you own spouse, and in others it is sinful to love someone of the same sex.

So, let me ask you the question: Who are we to determine what is sinful and what is not? We would all agree, I am sure, that someone who believes it is sinful for a woman not to cover her face needs to re-examine his/hers values? However, every day we hold people to a standard that does not compute.

Is someone harming you by their actions? Yes or No? If No, how do you come to the decision that that action is sinful? Surely that decision should be left to a higher power than us mere mortals? And even if you do decide that by your individual moral code the action of another is sinful what is it that allows people to try an impose that belief on the wider community? Surely it is sinful to try and do that?

Spot the difference - shouldn't be toooo hard