"An identity reduced to a burka"

[Mamaz0n]

Just read This very thought provoking article and thought i would share.

I was quite surprised to read that there are more women in the iranian government than there are in the US senate.
Dispells a fair few myths i feel.

Course i do crapola. Being a niqab wearing muslim woman myself. But i know we are not allowed an opinion on mn.

And for most niqab women i know its soley about God. I dont give a flying wotsit whT men think.

Riven - Why do you wear the burqa? I'm genuinely interested. Having read the Quran, my understanding is that Allah does not expect it. So why?

Niqab is not the same as a Burka it only covers the head.

Being pedantic its a niqab. And i wear it for a number of reasons. Given the genral unpleasantness on mn about niqabis is there really any point asking me? The internet is full of testinonies of much more eloqeunt women than me explaining why they wear it. Anti-face veil people dont want to listen.

But you are right in that it is not expected in the Quran and certainly not required. I also think even the hijab head scarf isnt required (lots of opinions differ on that) but i made a personal spiritual choice to wear it, as do many sisters i know. I also am not brave enough to wear it in certain places because of racism and hatred and have been attacked. We have lots of EDL here and I am scared and angry my choice is taken away from me. If we didnt have dd and were so vunerable id be a lot braver but Fiona Pilkington is in my mind constantly. I am petrified of attracting EDL attention so i put it on when i am far from home.
How sad is it i am too scared in my own country and on my own streets :(

Niqab is face veil
Hijab is head scarf
Burqa is afghani full body robe with a mesh to see through. Bloody awful imo as it does restrict vision

Sorry I got Niqab confused with the Hijab

Well, I care about what you think, because after so many years of "talking" on here, I think you are a smart and reasonable woman. And I would like to hear why a smart and reasonable woman would want to look like this in public, especially since it is not required by her religion.

Once again I come back to find that CoteDAzur has said what I would have said.

We did go through all of this extensively in the French burka ban threads, but just to clarify, I believe that a ban is for the good of society as a whole, as I believe that the wearing of the burka is detrimental to society's attitude to women in general.

Riven - I think that the Strauss-Kahn affair and the burka are two entirely separate issues and I find it odd that you conflate the two.

If you are not religious im not sure you could understand to be honest

Surely a religious person gets their ideas from religious scripture, unless one truly believes they have direct messages from God that they can hear in words, and therefore the reasoning behind the niqab/burqa is to cover your ornaments (hair, breasts, etc) from men so that men can avoid temptation. I'm not sure I buy into this 'make up my own reasons it's between me and God nonsense. Can Muslim women not read the Koran? Do they just make up their own rules?

I agree about society as a whole too, Cote makes fabulous points. It seems rather trite to say objectifying women is fundamentally wrong for society but hiding them behind reams of fabric is not.

Riven - I'm not sure if being a devout Muslim has a lot to do with the wish to wear the niqab, because (1) I have read the Quran and it describes how to wear the headscarf in detail. Nowhere does it say cover all your face and leave a slit for eyes, and (2) I know quite a few devout Muslim women including my grandmother and none of them wear the niqab.

So, I think there must be some reasoning behind the niqab that is independent of the Quran, so essentially not that related to being a devout Muslim.

I would really like to hear why you wear the niqab, if you wouldn't mind telling us.

"the reasoning behind the niqab/burqa is to cover your ornaments (hair, breasts, etc) from men"

Except that Quran explains what to hide in some detail, and nowhere does it say to hide your entire face. Hence my question why.

Because i want too

I expect a bit more after calling you a smart and reasonable woman on here

Am on phone as pooter broke or id give long eloqeunt reply. When i get it fixed we shall engage :)

Do let us know when you are back on pooter

Will be shouting from bloody rooftops i tell you!