Support Full Ban On The Veil

In her book, Islam and Democracy: Fear of the Modern World” my friend, Fatima Mernissi wrote “Hijab is manna from heaven for politicians facing crises, it is not just a scrap of cloth; it is a division of labor; it sends women back to the kitchen.” In the modern world facing economic and natural disaster crisis, we have to make use of the able physical and brain power of all women and men to get us out of the problems of, for example, joblessness, economic down turn, and nation-building. If the recent earthquake in Haiti takes place instead in the Gulf states area, are we not to use all capable human beings, men and women, to dig up the injured victims out from collapsed buildings? Can “veiled” women covering their face, do the physically challenging work wearing an awkwardly long black dress, effectively saving the victim’s life? For me, covering-up faces and bodies of the female population in any country has less to do with following a religion but more to do with blindly following an archaic “patriarchy” tradition of oppression of women. Burqa is against the human rights of women. France is doing the right thing in putting this issue out for an opened public discussions and parliamentary debates. There should not be any compromise or an exception for any group of people that do not follow the French law on gender equality and/or on the grounds of security from terrorism. The French Parliamentary Committee’s Report said that the wearing of the full veil is a challenge to their republic principles of secularism and equality which is unacceptable. I agree with members of the French National Assembly and the French people in supporting the full ban on the veil.