And a million thank you’s for that photo from inside the burqa. I wonder if we so more from the Arab-styled ones.

When I am covering my face, I really prefer those three-layer pieces that are sold in the Arab world. I can generally breathe through them, they don’t make me feel terribly hot (though peppermint chewing gum is an absolute blessing), and they tend to let air through better.

So much of what Mohammed has said and what has been written in Qur’an has become mangled by those who wish to purport what they believe rather than was is true.
If one is taught from birth that there is to be pride when wearing burqa, then of course there will be that pride.
You seem to be confusing a form of brainwashing with actually Qur’anic teaching.
Even just the head scarf came about when the women saw the icons of the Mother Mary and thought the look was becoming. It was only a fashion statement that has become like a law.
In Islam, there are to be no symbols offering what it stands for and yet when the women wear such things they are doing so. They are missing a cross or Star of David and are wanting of some kind of symbol. So they turn to hajib or burqa. But this is really against teaching.
Now these things are used to subjugate the women and make them into nothing which is very much the mindset of the men in power of those countries.

The woman on whom it has had to be imposed is wearing it to demonstrate her fidelity to female honour, chastity, Islamic modesty, morality. She wears it with pride.

She complains that it is hot, and indeed it is hot here anyway; sometimes claustrophobic; that the head piece is tight (she has been told it is meant to be so it does not slip off); that she can see very little (how else would he face be hidden); and has become effectively invisible, a cipher of what she was before, and when she first had to put it on thought of it as a cloth prison.

I have said that by donning it she has demonstrated a dignified and proper behaviour, as sanctioned by all leading clerics, the Koran, and that it is not her fault she is a woman, but since she is, she should in silence and obedience surrender herself to the proper duties of her sex.

It is fortunate that she understands this duty.

But enjoy?

Becky’s last blog post… Update on robin’s nest

Yeah, yeah, I’m not culturally used to the burqua, and I’m all too Western, and whatever other disclaimer I’m supposed to put on there…but, from what I understand of Muslim coverings, the burqua almost seems to have the OPPOSITE effect of the admirable intent many see in this requirement of Islam. A woman wearing a burqua seems dehumanized to so many. There is no visible sign that she is even human. There are no eyes, no face to convey emotion or thought…it seems like the woman in a burqua is easier to repress, abuse, or even execute because it is easier for her oppressors to think of her as a non-person.

I can understand my friend’s claim that she feels *more* respected in her chador because she has chosen to present herself in a way that actively keeps her sexuality off limits to the viewing public. Many faiths and cultures espouse “modesty” as not only an issue of purity, but also as a factor that maintains respect for women. But, the burqua, to me, is just that step to far…it is the step that declares that a woman’s humanity and her sexuality are so intertwined that the only options for a female are “sexually available to all” (just try to prosecute the rape of any woman, especially one out of a burqua) or “completely covered.”

I guess that I understand and respect the philosophy behind the “modest dress” requirements of many faiths and cultures, but have a problem when that extends to covering every inch of our bodies. I mean, dude. I know I’m totally hot and all, but do we really think that a glimpse of any part of my body at all is an allure not to be resisted? Please.

It would be nice if we could reconcile all of our nice liberal urges in to one multi-culti feminist package. But, the fact of the matter is, feminism is not about respecting existing cultures. Feminism is about challenging the patriarchy that’s inherent in existing cultures. It’s only fair to start at home…but, I don’t think you need to feel like some kind of entitled imperialist just because you are uncomfortable in a burqua. I’m glad you highlighted the practical discomforts that women in Afganistan live with every day…it’s not just a metaphor for a claustrophobic life. Its inconvenient, uncomfortable, and dehumanizing on a practical daily level.

Wow. That’s the most academic thing I’ve written in years. I feel I should balance it out by stating that your niece E drew a lovely picture of B.O.B. from “Monsters and Aliens,” and explained to me that “he looks like slippery boogies…the ones you tell me not to eat.” There. we’ve rebalanced.