In England we have parents dressing little girls in Hijabs to go to school while in repressive Islamic States women are facing prison to protest being forced to wear them.
In Iran women are climbing up on to telecom boxes, taking off their Hijabs, putting them on sticks and waving them in the air. For forty years they have been protesting being forced to wear the restricting garments. They want their freedom and are prepared to face draconian punishments to win it.
In Afghanistan under the Taliban women not fully covered were beaten cruelly with canes. The Hijab is also mandatory in Saudi Arabia and parts of Indonesia.
Yet in Britain Muslims are putting little girls into these restrictive clothes.
When I have travelled around the world in Muslim countries I am always struck by the contrast I see. The heat is sweltering. The men walk around in cool western T-shirts while the women are swaddled in voluminous black robes and facemasks (if they are allowed out at all – in some countries they are invisible).
It smacks of medieval misogyny.
The Niqab, Burqa and Hijab are pre-Islam. There is nothing in the Koran that says women should be forced to wear these medieval costumes. In fact the Koran states that both men and women should dress modestly. The men conveniently ignore that.
It smacks of misogyny to me. Women are second-class citizens.
Perhaps it is time for all Muslim women to show solidarity with their oppressed sisters and overthrow these outdated modes of dress?
Time this Country showed some guts and Banned the wearing of them not just for Children but all women. In other parts of Europe these are Banned, but here the damn politicians, both sides, have not got ther guts to put an outright ban on these, and why in case they offend the Muslims. This is the UK NOT a Muslim Country, this is a Christian Country. Ban them NOW.
Well I do feel in a dilemma here. Part of me agrees that we should ban them. I regard all religion as superstition. I find them offensive. But on the other hand we are a free and tolerant country. We have to set an example of freedom and tolerance. It is the only counter for a religion that has an element that is intolerant and indoctrinates kids.
I find burqas and Niqabs misogynistic.
None of this Islamic costume is mandatory in Indonesia, where all religious fundamentalism is banned.
Had you said Malaysia, then it would be accurate.
Robin – my understanding is that the Aceh province in Indonesia has mandatory strict adherence to hijabs.
Aceh is a tiny part of Indonesia, way out in the sticks with only 5 million people in total, combining at least 10 different ethnic groups. The total population of Indonesia is just under 270 million. Perhaps Malaysia is a better example to make your point after all.
Having just been to the Philippines I did not notice that women were covered up any more than other places. In Oman they were invisible altogether. We didn’t see any of them. They were confined in the house behind high walls.
Surely the Philippines isn’t Islamic, but almost wholly Roman Catholic?
Only about 6% of the entire population are Muslim.
The public protocol rules for women are variable depending upon individual state regulations.
You won’t see any women either in the tiny Maldives. In Saudi they are not permitted to leave their homes unaccompanied. In both cases they are covered head to foot.
Robin – I just checked that out. The Philippines is Christian. That explains it.
I did visit Male in the Maldives. There were lots of women about but they were covered up. The photo I took, which is above in the article, was in Male.
Yes, I knew that obviously. Remember the crazy scenes of adulation when the Pope visited. (not that I’m remotely interested in his movements)
Maldives has moderate to strong Muslim regulations. It’s such a damnable corrupt little place and I dislike it intensely.
Surprisingly teenage girls aren’t covered up but you probably didn’t get to see any of them. Some wear a simple headdress which is more for protection from the sun.
Maldives at summer’s height is one of the hottest places on earth. It is scorching hot and I thought about getting all the gear for myself. Anything than that constant burning sun.
What you saw in Male were married women and married women only. After all somebody needs to pop out to the shops for food for dinner. And only at certain times of the day and never at nighttime. You must have timed it in line with “Women’s Hour”. Weren’t you lucky. But there’s no way you saw them all through the day just willy nilly.
Your photo was taken on the “dry” Male, the main island where you can’t even find a beer. What were you doing there as there’s nothing to see?
The other side of that island, the part at opposite end from the shops and pier front area is where they live with horrible housing estates that look like something to be found in Russia and older streets of crumbling buildings long past demolition.
The other “wet” Male, the airport island, is at least slightly tolerable.
I used to work for a Singaporean company in the days when Male was a shithole in an oasis. Today there’s no oasis.
Can’t see myself ever going back that way.
Yes – we hated it. It was pure hypocrisy. Off shore they were making islands by crushing coral as resorts for the tourists. They’d go and work for the Westerners and serve alcohol and then go home to Male which was dry and strictly Islam. There was no choice everyone by law had to be Muslim. Couldn’t wait to get out.
of course no one should be forced to wear them or be forced to do anything but we should also not be held back from putting it on either. One person’s freedom can be another person’s prison. It depends on the situation and the perspective. Anything forced is forced, simply put, but don’t take away my right to choose what I put on my body.
JH – Yes I agree with you. Well put.
Simply put—no one should be forced to wear something they aren’t comfortable wearing, but they also shouldn’t be forbidden to wearing something they want to wear. If people want the hijab to be banned, well then there in the same boat as the people who force women to wear it. Freedom of expression works both ways. The best we can do is to educate ourselves about our differences and build a better world.
Thank you for that. It’s a complex issue. Are women being coerced (all-be-it culturally) to wear clothing that ostracises them from society and makes them second-class citizens? I think they are.
But then I take your point and accept they have the right to do what they like.
I’m all for building a better, more tolerant world.