A WOMAN gets arrested for wearing a controversial item of clothing that the state deems out of line and is convicted of public indecency. We are not talking about Belgium, Italy or France but, rather, Sudan. However, these days it's easy to get the countries mixed up. It's hard not to compare the recent cases of a French woman who was fined while wearing a niqab and driving, a fully veiled Italian woman who was issued with a fine of 500 euros ($A712) while walking in the street and the absurd arrest of a woman for wearing trousers in Sudan last September.
The issue came closer to home yesterday when [Australian] Opposition Leader Tony Abbott responded to calls by Liberal senator Cory Bernardi for a ban on the burqa by saying there is ''understandable community concern'' about the attire. The common thread in these cases is the attempt at state intervention in the personal spheres of women's clothing and expression.
France, Belgium, Italy and Sudan seem to be cut from the same cloth on the issue of women's expression and participation in society. Each country criminalises certain items of clothing - but one country is a traditionalist theocracy and the others are Western liberal democracies, so why are they so similar?
Ironically, France condemned Sudan for punishing the woman for wearing trousers. Belgium - with its impending ban of the burqa - has on countless occasions, through the UN Human Rights Council, criticised countries such as Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan because of their treatment of women and called for the end of discrimination against women.
While it can be said that fundamentalist right-wing Muslims only claim and fight for human rights when it suits their agenda, the same selectivity can be seen by feminists, given their failure to defend Muslim women's choices. The burqa is obligatory for women in Yemen or Afghanistan, but this cannot be the case for all women in France, Italy or Belgium who have clearly asserted their personal choices in wearing the full veil.
Despite their views of the burqa, the defence of women's autonomy and choice should be enough to stir feminists. Yet there is silence from this quarter. Strong Muslim women who wear the burqa are speaking out, but the debate is still disproportionately dominated by the misogynistic voices of male politicians and conservative Muslim men.
Why should any state determine what women should wear? And how is this in line with liberalism and the republic? What about Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the rights of minority groups to preserve their culture?
Is a ban the right way to go for ''liberation''? Human rights experts say no. They have warned that these bans are counterproductive in their aims of ''liberating'' Muslim women who are coerced into wearing the burqa or niqab.
This ban would only serve to confine vulnerable women who are forced into wearing the full veil and whose movements and freedoms are already restricted. The long-term effects of such bans will limit the participation of Muslim women in public life.
Last year, during a presentation given to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, we reported on the state of the Muslim minority in Australia. Among the issues raised was the intolerance and bigotry that had been a feature of previous government policies and rhetoric, but what was also highlighted was the various responses from Muslim Australians, notably the burkini - Muslim Australia's very own creation.
This specially made swimsuit for Muslim women has encouraged the participation of Muslim women in Australia's iconic beach culture, an unlikely immersion. The European diplomats and UN human rights officers were surprised such an innovation could emerge from a country with one of the smallest Muslim populations in Western democracies. Months after our presentation, the burkini was banned in several European cities.
As hijabi-wearing women, we understand the significance the hijab has on our identity, lifestyle and how we are perceived. What bewilders us, however, is why a piece of cloth has become the centre of a cultural war in societies with a small number of veiled Muslim women.
It becomes clearer when we look at the political context surrounding these European countries. In France, for instance, there is an evident attempt on the part of the Sarkozy administration to pander to xenophobic segments of the French voting public.
This exploitation of anti-Muslim sentiments and targeting of such a small but visible group is cheap politics aimed at gaining popularity among the ultra-right voter base.
We say to the misogynists on the political right and to fundamentalist Muslims, stop sacrificing women for your causes.
Samah Hadid is the 2010 Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations. Rayann Bekdache is a freelance journalist.
Source
The issue came closer to home yesterday when [Australian] Opposition Leader Tony Abbott responded to calls by Liberal senator Cory Bernardi for a ban on the burqa by saying there is ''understandable community concern'' about the attire. The common thread in these cases is the attempt at state intervention in the personal spheres of women's clothing and expression.
France, Belgium, Italy and Sudan seem to be cut from the same cloth on the issue of women's expression and participation in society. Each country criminalises certain items of clothing - but one country is a traditionalist theocracy and the others are Western liberal democracies, so why are they so similar?
Ironically, France condemned Sudan for punishing the woman for wearing trousers. Belgium - with its impending ban of the burqa - has on countless occasions, through the UN Human Rights Council, criticised countries such as Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan because of their treatment of women and called for the end of discrimination against women.
While it can be said that fundamentalist right-wing Muslims only claim and fight for human rights when it suits their agenda, the same selectivity can be seen by feminists, given their failure to defend Muslim women's choices. The burqa is obligatory for women in Yemen or Afghanistan, but this cannot be the case for all women in France, Italy or Belgium who have clearly asserted their personal choices in wearing the full veil.
Despite their views of the burqa, the defence of women's autonomy and choice should be enough to stir feminists. Yet there is silence from this quarter. Strong Muslim women who wear the burqa are speaking out, but the debate is still disproportionately dominated by the misogynistic voices of male politicians and conservative Muslim men.
Why should any state determine what women should wear? And how is this in line with liberalism and the republic? What about Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the rights of minority groups to preserve their culture?
Is a ban the right way to go for ''liberation''? Human rights experts say no. They have warned that these bans are counterproductive in their aims of ''liberating'' Muslim women who are coerced into wearing the burqa or niqab.
This ban would only serve to confine vulnerable women who are forced into wearing the full veil and whose movements and freedoms are already restricted. The long-term effects of such bans will limit the participation of Muslim women in public life.
Last year, during a presentation given to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, we reported on the state of the Muslim minority in Australia. Among the issues raised was the intolerance and bigotry that had been a feature of previous government policies and rhetoric, but what was also highlighted was the various responses from Muslim Australians, notably the burkini - Muslim Australia's very own creation.
This specially made swimsuit for Muslim women has encouraged the participation of Muslim women in Australia's iconic beach culture, an unlikely immersion. The European diplomats and UN human rights officers were surprised such an innovation could emerge from a country with one of the smallest Muslim populations in Western democracies. Months after our presentation, the burkini was banned in several European cities.
As hijabi-wearing women, we understand the significance the hijab has on our identity, lifestyle and how we are perceived. What bewilders us, however, is why a piece of cloth has become the centre of a cultural war in societies with a small number of veiled Muslim women.
It becomes clearer when we look at the political context surrounding these European countries. In France, for instance, there is an evident attempt on the part of the Sarkozy administration to pander to xenophobic segments of the French voting public.
This exploitation of anti-Muslim sentiments and targeting of such a small but visible group is cheap politics aimed at gaining popularity among the ultra-right voter base.
We say to the misogynists on the political right and to fundamentalist Muslims, stop sacrificing women for your causes.
Samah Hadid is the 2010 Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations. Rayann Bekdache is a freelance journalist.
Source
Fucking patriarchy.
A good lawyer could argue that yes, at first glance a niqab seems to invite accidents by restricting the driver's view, but what about women with a lot of hair? When they wear it down, doesn't that invite a few blind spots as well?
Just my thoughts.
Actually in Europe I noticed glasses are not that common. They`re common enough, and they`re cheaper than North America, but when I was a kid I barely remember anyone with glasses and when I went back the same people who were wearing glasses before were wearing glasses now. So I think the numbers in France would be lower. idk though.
IA
For example, I was reading about niqab wearers in Montreal, and in one of the cases the woman was being absolutely impossible, refused to talk to male peers in her class etc. talk openly in class/requested separated space whereas in another class another woman with niqab was completely engaged in the class. Incidentally they were both banned, which is unfortunate, because the law was essentially in reaction to one person being a douche-bag. Similarly if a bank has issues with covered faces, then they figure out a means by which a woman can prove her identity; and in various situations women should comply with the police etc.
A few weeks I went to a conference for University of Wisconsin system students, and one of the workshops was about women in Islam. It was really well done, and at one point the facilitator went into this whole thing about veiling. She was like, "Look, when people say it's restrictive or it's hard to see out of them or it's too hot, they're wrong. They've never worn one." Then she asked for a volunteer, and I raised my hand, and I went up and she put a hijab on me. It was quite comfortable, and I have to say, they would be GREAT on bad hair days.
tl;dr This article is perfect stunning wonderful, etc.
I'd wear loose clothing there too.
Also: I think the idea of the burkini rocks, tbh.
Sorry I got a little bit off topic I think.