Maryam Namazie writes that veils are a form of sexual apartheid and abuse to women.
Yes some are forced to wear the veil, but many I am sure, do it genuinely voluntarily out of religious devotion.
I do believe that religion / traditional culture can often be more trouble than it's worth, but how would you separate a person from her upbringing and culture? How would you convince her that her deeply held beliefs are wrong?
Legislate for it? -- then you are going down the same road as Maoist China and other dogmatic states such as Saudi Arabia.
People should have the freedom to wear (and do) whatever they want, as long as they are not endangering others.
The fact that some are /forced/ and threatened into wearing the veil is a real problem, let's focus on finding solutions to that problem rather than getting sidetracked on anti-religious broadsides.
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I used to believe that veil epitomises supression. However i am now realising that many women could reclaim the meanings of wearing veils to contest that representation.
Bloody western media and narrow-minded feminism like to represent veil in a very condescending way. Even males would see veil as a symbol of purity as opposed to their created images on wester women.
In the hype of demonisation of Islam following the terrorist acts, veil is becoming a site of battle in which people try to give the meanings to it.
I agree that the problem is not the veil itself. It is rather the regulation of forcing people to wear them.
"I agree that the problem is not the veil itself. It is rather the regulation of forcing people to wear them."
That is a problem, but the oppression of women is also a problem - but that happens in Christian / Hindu / Buddhist societies too - banning veils isn't going to magically make things any better.
Yes oppression is indeed perenial. What worries me is that this issue will easily be used to make a anti-religious slant, defaming their belief that is closely tied in their cultural existence.
Today we would read the news about women that are punished for not wearing veils or any religious attributes from Sydney Morning Herald, CNN, BBC. And it is very likely some rednecks in Sydney, Belfast, Toronto, Los Angeles would feel thankful enough to have a different religion.
The next day, their newspaper will put how western media covered the story of the punishment. People in Kabul, Teheran, Islamabad, Jakarta will be spewing on how western media sensationalise the issue.
Have you read the article that i gave you?
I am one of those women who wears veil. I was forced to wore it at first. forced by my grandpa and the rules of the school that i attended to study. I wasn't feel comfortable with the vei at first. but then, I realize that this is what my religion asked me to. far from the thought that veil can limit me from anything that i might want to do, i started to like and love wearing this veil on my head. and now, whenever i go i feel uncomfortable if i go without my veil.
I also agree that western media and narrow-minded feminism had make this issue become worse. i think they should try to use it one of the day and feel the comfortness of wearing this veil. but sadly, wearing veil in western seems to be hard becoz some people there like to relate it with terorism. indeed, not all women who wears veil is a terorist, right?
*hi, its my firt time to come by. sory if my English is bad =9 i'm not a regular English tongue =9
thx for dropping by, kana!
yeh well it being forced on you doesn't sound good at all...
but if you are happy with it now then it is nothing but a good thing i suppose.
i think veils are just relatively new thing to the western world, give us time we will get used to it! ;)
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