So banning the Burka - freeing women from opression or taking away free choice...?

[Portoeufino]

I read that in Belgium there is a draft bill to ban burkas and also the niqab.

As they put it " There is nothing in Islam or the Koran about the burka. It has become an institution of intimidation and is a sign of submission of women. A civilized society cannot accept the imprisonment of women."

They then talk of "matters of public safety" - is that implying that if you wear a burka is it therefore likely you might have it stuffed with explosives? Or if you cover your face, then there are security issues connected with that?

I have to admit I am very ignorant about all this. DO women only wear this clothing because they are opressed? Do they choose to? What happens if it is banned? Are women freed, or will they end up forbidden from leaving the house?

I am very interested to learn and understand more about this.

re-phrase my last para (up with teething baby a lot ATM): I'm not a proponent of neo-liberalism, so according to my principles, I would say it's ok for women to wear it, ^not on the basis that it's an individual's choice to do so, but on the basis that the women are doing it as a feminist choice (for the reasons discussed above) and I believe them (although I am sure other women have no choice, but if we ban it then they really will have no choice).

Virtually none of them are doing it as a femininst choice though.

Sakura - re your earlier reference to how we perceive kimonos: Yes, we are indeed more hostile in the west to the veil and burqa than the kimono. I feel that this is because we are ignorant about the realities of and behind the kimono - most of us don't realize that it is so restricting and used as an object of oppression. On the other hand, we are not as ignorant about how the burqa in particular is used to oppress women in some parts of the world.

Thanks for the heads up, though. I, for one, am a bit less ignorant on this subject after your post.

Posieparker - It's NiQab, with a q. If you're going to pontificate about it, at least spell it right.

As for the rest of you, you actually had a real live Muslim woman patiently explaining things to you, but thought you all knew better, hence the facile speculation on why you think Muslim women might wear it.

Some of us have quite a few "real live Muslim women" in our lives and hence this is not the first time we are hearing from them, would you believe.

And in any case, much as I love to chat with Muslim MNers, I don't see why I should be be able to make a contribution to this debate only when graced by their presence

And we are as perfectly entitled to draw attention to the argument that the Koran does not require the wearing of the burka etc as Muslim women. There are femininst movements within all the major religions and a jolly good thing too.