Head Scarves and Veils For Muslim Women
Tony Blair has even weighed in on this topic now. You can read the full article here. But the bottomline is that Mr. Blair says "take them off, you are keeping yourself from integrating into our society!"
As for me, I understand a veil or head scarf is a token of one's adherence to a religious viewpoint and shows obedience to a higher power. I am not set back or offended by women wearing these items. It does not prevent me from talking to them nor affect my viewpoint of them. In fact it does call attention to them but that is not necessarily a bad thing either. Do we ask nuns and Catholic priests to remove their habits and collars? Do we ask Jews to remove their yamakas? Why do people persist in demanding that devout Muslim women remove their veils and head scarves?
Personally I think that a full veil or bourka makes a woman look mysterious. Although in America we do not see many women dressed like this, in other cultures, this is the norm and one would look unusual on the street without them. Why are we so quick to point fingers at others who choose to dress or act differently. Is it fear, is it out of concern for the other, or is it about our own comfort; that everyone look and act like ourselves.
Any way you look at it, head scarves and full veils will not disappear, you can count on it. We need to stop focusing on what is under or behind the veil and instead focus on the person's performance or attitude not what they are wearing.
As for me, I understand a veil or head scarf is a token of one's adherence to a religious viewpoint and shows obedience to a higher power. I am not set back or offended by women wearing these items. It does not prevent me from talking to them nor affect my viewpoint of them. In fact it does call attention to them but that is not necessarily a bad thing either. Do we ask nuns and Catholic priests to remove their habits and collars? Do we ask Jews to remove their yamakas? Why do people persist in demanding that devout Muslim women remove their veils and head scarves?
Personally I think that a full veil or bourka makes a woman look mysterious. Although in America we do not see many women dressed like this, in other cultures, this is the norm and one would look unusual on the street without them. Why are we so quick to point fingers at others who choose to dress or act differently. Is it fear, is it out of concern for the other, or is it about our own comfort; that everyone look and act like ourselves.
Any way you look at it, head scarves and full veils will not disappear, you can count on it. We need to stop focusing on what is under or behind the veil and instead focus on the person's performance or attitude not what they are wearing.
Head scarves and veils, principally the latter, can not be accepted as long as Muslim males in the West choose to think that other females are whores who want to be raped.
Posted by BC | Wed Oct 18, 11:29:00 PM EDT
Get a life BC!!!! So you would punish an innocent person to get back at her oppressor? You MUST be a man! Maybe these women wear veils becuase it shows their devotion to their religous beliefs (whether you embrace them or not). Why not make Jews burn their Yamulkas and forbid them to wear them? Why not forbid the grotesque display of crosses around the necks of Christians? Why not forbid military personnel from wearing their uniforms? You are an idiot and as bad as the people making the cultural and religious insults in Britian.
Posted by Anonymous | Thu Oct 19, 09:14:00 PM EDT