To think that some types of 'western dress' e.g; high heels are as oppressive as the burka?

[malificent7]

Don't get me wrong; I have worn heels in the past in the dubious hope that they look 'sexy.' I have mostly ended up hobbling along at the end of the evening in pain and fed up, envious of those wearing trainers.
I do realise that women have a 'choice ' to wear garments such as heels, mini skirts and boob tubes but aibu to think that they are not garments of liberation but rather an over sexualised aesthetic imposed by the patriarchy.

I am not a massive fan of the burka and I do think that they have been enforced by the patriarchy for a different reason; to protect the modesty of the woman. I am very against the burka ban and I think Boris Johnson is a prick for his comments.

So both types of dress control women in different ways; the western dress to promote sexuality and the burka to hide it.

In short, women should wear what they want without government enforcement and comments from Boris and his ilk.

And before we talk about seeing women's faces when we talk to them and the obstruction to that that the burka causes; what about a full face of slap that many western girls embrace now?

Honestly we could argue about women dressing for me until the bitter end.

One thing I'm sure we could all agree on is that wearing a sheet over your head isn't comfortable or practical.

It must be sweltering in the heat, you can't move freely, can't run or play sports, play with your children, eat, use the bathroom easily, walk through the sand or paddle in the sea. It must even hinder vision.

You cannot be comfortable and live life to the full dressed like that.

I agree. It's one thing to wear a loose outfit, a floor length outfit or a headscarf. Quite another thing to wear a face covering.

Seriously OP, as someone who comes from an Iranian background do you realise just how stupid and offensive your analogy is???
Last I checked women in the UK weren't getting arrested and sentenced to jail for refusing to wear heels.
There aren't morality police wandering around making sure women have their heels on and force girls to wear them from primary school onward.
To compare that to the Niqab (which I presume is what you meant by Burqa) is just wilfully ignorant. And horribly offensive to so many women who are risking imprisonment, lashes and hefty jail sentences for wanting the simple freedom of feeling the wind in their hair.

I don't like the burka myself, but my only opinion about it today is what a massive twat Boris Johnson is.

@ayla1 excellent points.
We can't imagine what it's like for women in places like Iran.

No-one should be forced to wear high heels. However, as ayla1 observes, no one is being arrested for wearing or not wearing them.

But strictorth You can't read men's or women's thoughts. They can think what they like even if you wore the Niquab. That in itself might turn on someone.

The whole thing is ridiculous IMO (I speak as a half Jew).

I disagree with your statement of women should stand against male oppression

No you don't disagree with my statement Earthmoon!

You quote We should stand against all oppression in the next sentence.

So surely male oppression would be included in that.

You don't make a lot of sense on several points to be fair!

Covering someone’s face cuts them off from communication. It makes it so hard to interact with the outside world and is intentionally isolating.
The idea that it’s some sort of liberation is laughable.

There a difference between wearing a headscarf and adopting conservative dress and covering the face. The difference is that women can interact freely with society while wearing a headscarf. A burqa - that reduces a woman to wearing a prison cell.

Haven’t bothered to read all the comments, but, why does everyone assume all the women who wear the niqab (fave covering) are forced to do so?
At university, there were plenty who wore it and were actually going against their family members.
I also know one or two who wear it now, and they’re single, strong minded independent women....
I believe in freedom of choice, wear what you want, don’t know why everyone gets into a pickle about how others dress....and a law banning it would be oppression, oppressing the rights of women who chose to wear niqab.

LonelyStranger It's not a item of women's clothing though. It's symbolism. It represents something. No different to wearing a dress uniform.
And what it represents isn't great.

When it comes in a range of exciting colours and fabrics for women to chose from I might agree with you though.

If men have to wear it too then great

shewore so does this apply to all religious attire worn by women? What about the Jewish sect (women wear face covering too)? And what about the Sikh women who wear what looks like the headscarf worn by Muslim women? Should turbans worn by Sikh men come into the ban too? Where does it end? Who has the right to continue to outwardly represent their religion? How do you decide?

The niqab is not required by the Koran so its status as ‘religious attire’ is dubious. Any covering of the face erases the wearer’s identity and has no place in the public interactions of a civilised democratic society.

Covering the face. That’s the difference.

@KatharineHilbery you do realise the irony of what you just said. In a civilised democratic society you are free to wear whatever you choose to, be it a miniskirt or a niqab. And that's why I love living in one.

LonelyStranger
Whose talking about banning anything.
You said it was women's clothing and I disagree. It's a symbol.

I don't agree that religion should have any place in clothing or jewellery personally. That belongs in a different time. I know plenty of Jews and a couple of Sikhs who don't wear religious clothing, Guess what, nothing happens.

I think adandoning religious clothing should come about in much the way smoking is not illegal but definitely not encouraged the way it was.

dadshere so you would happily ban all religious attire, and include Jewish women who wear niqab too?
Is that your version of freedom?

@bitchqueen The ‘right’ to erase your identity by publicly covering your face is anathema to democratic values which hinge on the rights and responsibilities of individual citizens.

shewore understood

dadshere I believe women taking on their husbands name is also a sign of ‘posession’..do you agree?

The women I know who wear it do so because they believe it's a sign of their faith. And yet on here if people of other faiths post on here they're ridiculed and told they believe in sky fairies. Why is Islam so special? The Koran does not require the wearing of niqab or burka.

Completely with dadshere on this. I am utterly disgusted at the widespread use of the term ‘modest clothing’ in allegedly feminist contexts.

derxa are people really ridiculed for wearing the cross? Wearing a headscarf (as a Sikh woman)? Are nuns ridiculed on here? And priests (obvs not for the reasons they make headlines these days )
I haven’t seen it, so genuinely asking