Canadian Politics Today

Leaving aside whether a woman is forced to wear a niqab or chooses it, if wearing it in public were illegal, she would be effectively banned from malls, coffee shops, sporting events, schools, any public place. 

If wearing a niqab prevents her from doing those things, then maybe she could chose to not wear it when she wants to do those things.

In the case of women who are forced to wear them through family pressure or outright violence, how is it any different?   

If we justify allowing niqabs and burqas on the basis that these women might get beat up if they don't wear them, aren't we acting as enablers for the abusers? If we're concerned that women could get beaten up for not conforming to dress codes, shouldn't we be concerned that these women are getting beaten up for other reasons too?  Is it possible that these heavily concealing garments are being used to hide bruises?

I believe the only truth in the above is that they are allowed to wear them in court.   In the other cases, the niqab is removed for photos and for identification by law enforcement; the accommodation is that it is done in private and in front of a woman. 

All of these issues have been fought in court ad nauseum, and there are no shortage of those who believe that the right to wear a bag on your head should supersede other concerns. Regarding court: wearing a mask while giving testimony can be an infringement on the right of the accused to a legal defense. The court can certainly refuse to allow you to testify while wearing a mask if there is any concern that the right to a fair trial is compromised.

Sure, but it would probably be more effective to point out that wearing them is not a requirement of Islam.

I'm not out to convince any person to change the way she dresses.  No one person's choice of dress offends me.

However, the underlying idea-- that women need to cover themselves to avoid tempting men into violence-- is offensive and insulting to everyone concerned.

I notice that the more anti-Islamic rhetoric there is, the more women I see in hijabs and niqabs.  Could it be that the way women who are visually identifiable as Muslim are attacked is causing them to increase their solidarity through the wearing of these (to them, if not you) religious symbols?   Maybe a smarter course of action would be to ignore it and let them realize on their own that there is a better and more comfortable way to dress.

I ignore it in real life when I see it, which is rare here. There's nothing to be gained by getting in someone's face.  But here, where we're discussing the idea itself rather than a single persons' personal choices, I see no reason not to point out that the idea is terrible and stupid and disgusting.

I can understand who people raised in the culture accept it.  But I feel no sympathy for dumb-ass western women who have come to advocate for the idea as if it were a symbol of "empowerment" or some **** like that. It's not a symbol of empowerment. It is literally a symbol of the idea that women are pieces of meat and that men are animals who will take them if they're not covered up. It's idiotic to try and market it as anything other.



SO **** EMPOWERED~~~!

 -k