Ban The Burkha?

B*gger boring opinionated people going on about the B-thing! However it seems intolerant to ban it. Nuns wear habits, judges wear silly wigs, Wimbledon players wear whites. Sometimes traditions do not make much sense to me but 'live and let live.'

Banning things people may choose to wear and insulting the overweight don't either of them seem to me like things that further the ending of oppression.

I think we should have banned the burkha years ago. It's emergence has been the one element of immigration into the UK that I, and a lot of other people I know, find highly offensive and to my mind it should never have been tolerated.

It removes one of the fundamentals of communication between people in western societies, that when we're in the presence of others we can see their faces. Showing your face is an element of opening up to people, revealing more of your personality, and contributes to the building of trust. Take that away and you're essentially dehumanising at least one presence in the room.

I'm sure that the vast majority of women wearing burkhas do so because they are intimidated by a misogynistic culture that says they belong to a man and that no element of their personality should be shared with others, especially any infidels who don't conform to their 'faith'. The fact that this is paraded in public makes those men more confident in showing the world that they regard the women as their property.

I'll acknowledge that there are also some muslim women who wear it out of choice, but that's equally offensive. They're refusing to reveal an element of themselves that they happily take from others. In any other context it would be regarded as deeply sinister - the hiding of one's face would be seen by others as a threat - yet they expect to be treated differently.

I think the UK is a better place for the range of cultures it has absorbed over the past fifty years, but this is the issue where there's a line that shouldn't have been crossed. We ougth to follow the French lead and make those things illegal.

Let's just ban burks.

Perhaps to you, burkahs are oppressive and unnecessary, but some women do enjoy wearing them.

As for your assertion that they are a sign of misogyny, do not forget that, once upon a time, the so-called Western culture was not so favourable to women, either.  It did not allow them to vote, open their own bank accounts, etc.   That, in my opinion, is no better than the veil.

In response to drumkit's points:

Yes, once upon a time Western culture treated women unfairly, but we've become much more civlised, and we've never forced them to walk around in black sacks.

And any woman who enjoys wearing a burkha should wise up to the fact that if she does it in a Western country she can't hide her face from everybody and expect not to arouse suspicion and distaste. 

I also think that this desire to ban the burka has more to do with Muslim bashing than real concern about allegations that the burka demeans women.

I also think that this desire to ban the burka has more to do with Muslim bashing than real concern about allegations that the burka demeans women.

I also think that this desire to ban the burka has more to do with Muslim bashing than real concern about allegations that the burka demeans women.

I also think that this desire to ban the burka has more to do with Muslim bashing than real concern about allegations that the burka demeans women.

I also think that this desire to ban the burka has more to do with Muslim bashing than real concern about allegations that the burka demeans women.

By the way, I am not a Muslim and the person who wants to make babies with me is  only after one thing.

Sorry about some posts printed twice.  I must haveaccidentally pressed the wrong button.