France Trying To Unclothe Islamic Women... For Safety
 

These are Burqas.

http://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/pack%20o%20burqas.jpg

Because we really need at least one serious thread.

Now, some people - feminists and conservatives - 'dislike' the burqa in the same way that gay people make conservatives feel uncomfortable.

Anyways, France is trying to outright ban them.

So if it's a traditional garment:

Which remains part of the culture of a different race of persons whom, while we may not agree with their views or politics, respect as other human beings on this planet and subject to the same freedoms and rights as anyone else, why is France banning it? Or at least trying to?


So something that's part of their culture and tradition, and has been for some time, is gettin' banned in an entire country because Sarkozy... wants to see some faces?

I could see that if there was terrible accident or something like that where a burqa was the cause of a horrible decapitation or whatever, but since I'm pretty sure that French law would prohibit Islamic men forcing their wives/daughters to wear the veil without their consent, because I think that in France women have the right to choose whether or not they want to wear the veil or go without, and because in France those women that do wear it are not doing so because they're trying to subjugate an entire gender but keep their culture and tradition alive... I don't really see why an entire country has to ban them.

But maybe I'm wrong about all this and France is just ass backwards. I mean, burqas can be pretty hot.

Which country was it that banned minarets?

Sweden, I think? Pretty sure it began with an S.

France always seem to be quite progressive in their politics. If you are going to challenge Islamic traditions banning burqas would be a relatively harmless starting point I guess.

And I have been wondering about how to challenge Islamic traditions since I found that their leaders officially reject parts of the United Nations declaration of human rights because they think God is more important. I would like to be able to show them every bit of respect a human being deserves, but that's hard when they don't share the same priority.

Switzerland.
Also they've been talking about banning Burqas for like the past two years in France. Haven't done anything so far.
A lot of it is concern that women are force to wear them. The issue first came about in schools where they are banned (alongside other religious items such as skullcaps) and discussions about how legal that was lead to it being spread wider.

In response to IQ: Who does take the declaration of human rights seriously? I don't think anybody does.

I think everyone takes it seriously. Not to the point where it gets in the way of any actual lawmaking, but I'm pretty sure everyone is on board with the human rights being at least sound in principle, worth thinking about and something for future generations to hopefully get closer to realizing. Almost everyone that is.

Sadly you might be right about that.

Yeah they take it seriously in the "Yeah that's a good idea we should follow as long as it doesn't hamper the ability of us/our lobbyists fucking over everyone else". So in other worlds not at all.

Well, let's challenge lobbyist traditions too. Profits nor prophets should be more important than human rights!

PS, there was a thing in the newspaper a few weeks ago about how Quebec is trying to ban the niqab.

This is nothing more than racism. If you really want to "liberate" women you don't isolate them by forcing them to change what they're wearing in order to receive public services, especially when burqas and niqabs are only worn by a very very small part of the population in these countries. (Well, I know it's a very very tiny percentage in Quebec, not so sure about France, but I suspect it's equally negligible.)

I am very weirded out when laws are passed regarding what kind of clothing women can wear. Why on earth is it wrong for someone to cover their head and face if they so chose? Isn't it insulting to automatically assume these women are repressed? They may wear a burqa because their husbands want them to. They may also wear them because it's how they grew up and anything else would feel silly even though they are educated, liberal people.

Yes, there are repressed Islamic women, but it's not fair to assume that just because they chose to wear the clothing they grew up wearing that they are- anymore than I'd be "repressed" if I chose not to go bare breasted on the beach in the Dominican Republic.

I live in an area with a significant muslim population- heck, my boss and a good portion of my co-workers are muslim- and I just want to state loud and clear that the vast majority of them, despite what the media says, are NOT back-asswards people. Even if they chose to cover up more than Westerners do. It's just what they're comfortable wearing.

There is really no way to say who is or isn't repressed until you get to know the individual, and as far as I can see this law will be useless in helping those who ARE repressed.

Edit: Also, yeah, oppressed is the right term. Derp.