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Original poster

can i ask a feminist perspective of the full face veil, neqab.

121 replies

tomhardyismydh · 12/04/2011 11:11

I just wondered if any of you well informed inteligant ladies, could belive that some women now 'own' the veil as thier own feminist stand against being an object for the the male gaze.

or is the feminist stance collect on the veil being opressive etc.

I am asking simply out of interest based on the newsnight interview last night.

OP posts:
Absolutelyfabulous · 13/04/2011 19:09

I had thought of a response but everything I want to say has been said by Dittany throughout this thread, only better.

DarthNiqabi · 13/04/2011 18:59

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AliceWorld · 13/04/2011 18:49

It's got nothing to do with innate sex differences. That doesn't alter the fact that the vast majority of violence is carried out by men. It being innate or not doesn't not change that fact.

DarthNiqabi · 13/04/2011 18:40

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dittany · 13/04/2011 18:38

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computermouse · 13/04/2011 18:25

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computermouse · 13/04/2011 18:24

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dittany · 13/04/2011 18:12

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computermouse · 13/04/2011 17:24

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dittany · 13/04/2011 15:05

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computermouse · 13/04/2011 14:40

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computermouse · 13/04/2011 13:17

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thaigreencurry · 13/04/2011 10:29

No worries. Smile

ForkfulOfEasterEgg · 13/04/2011 10:10

Sorry to be offputting Sad. I inferred from your post that since the wearing is not now law then that means that women there are free to choose whether to wear it (and I don't believe they do have the choice).

thaigreencurry · 13/04/2011 09:55

Forkful, I'm well aware that things are not "hunkydory" in Afghanistan and I cannot understand how you have interpreted my post in that way. I asked a question regarding the legal position of wearing the veil. Under Taleban rule women were legally required to wear the burqa. I thought the legal position had changed. I understand that tribal customs mean that the menfolk are still forcing women to be covered and that the legal position means very little for most women. I did read a couple of years ago that things were improving for middle class women in the large cities and that they were no longer wearing the burqa. Perhaps the situation is getting worse? I asked a simple question there is no need for the Hmm it can be perceived as hostile and off putting for a newcomer to MN.

purits · 13/04/2011 08:43

Feminist perspective?

A bloke wrote a book telling women to cover up.Hmm What's more to say?

And before anyone says it wasn't 'a bloke' it was god, tell me any mainstream religion run by women.

alexpolismum · 13/04/2011 08:42

Well, I count myself as a feminist and I support the ban.

I do not represent any other feminists, only myself.

I would never commit an act of violence against anyone and I would not pull the veil off any veiled woman. Supporting the ban is not the same as condoning such acts, and I think it is despicable that you correlate the two.

People cannot be allowed absolute free choice in any society, there are many things I am not permitted by law to choose. Why do you think that removing this one particular choice (if choice it really is) is so terrible?

Women are not being told what to wear - they are being told "you cannot wear this one particular thing."

dittany · 13/04/2011 08:31

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dittany · 13/04/2011 08:26

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dittany · 13/04/2011 08:23

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HecateQueenOfTheNight · 13/04/2011 08:05

The problem with banning it is that it just harms women.

Does anyone really think that those women who wore it, will now take it off to go out?

No. They'll either wear it and get a fine etc, or they will never leave the house. - or never be ALLOWED to leave the house.

If the wearing of it was a prison for women, removing the right to wear it is more of a prison.

If anyone thinks that these women will now go out in a twinset, they are stupid. These poor women will now be prisoners in their own homes.

I have no idea what the solution is. Well, it's to stop men seeing women as their property, but quite how something that massive can ever be acheived, I have no idea.

computermouse · 13/04/2011 08:04

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computermouse · 13/04/2011 07:58

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computermouse · 13/04/2011 07:57

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Insert1x50p · 13/04/2011 07:29

Someone once said "the trouble with liberal values is that they are almost impossible to defend using liberal values." I would argue that the case of the burqua is one of the best examples of this.

The liberal has a quandary. On the one hand, the burqua when worn is arguably repressive, restrictive and divisive and a symbol of female oppression. On the other, some muslim women argue that it's their choice to wear it, and liberals are pro-choice. The liberal must therefore decide whether to repress those who say they want to wear it, in order to uphold the wider liberal values, or allow "personal" choice at the expense of the wider values.

By saying "the burqua is banned" you rescue some women from tyranny, but restrict the freedoms of others.