Some people are surprised, when they ask my view on women and the burqa, to hear me reply: “I don’t know”.
I am not a Muslim woman. I am speaking as a white privileged woman about something I really know little about, from a cultural background that is in many ways very different.
I do wish that no woman should have to wear this clothing. The version with the mesh eye covers is especially troubling to me. I see this full cover as saying that a woman’s body needs to be covered because it is dangerous in some way and can provoke sexual thoughts or acts in men. It looks uncomfortable and restrictive to wear. And I am disturbed that in some parts of the world women can be upbraided, arrested, or even killed for not covering up, or for inadvertently exposing parts of their bodies. (I’m also disturbed that in Australia, women wearing this dress have been spat on and called terrorists).
I appreciate the arguments of liberation and respect that covering is said to promote. But from my perspective a woman should be able to expect respect and honour in whatever clothing she wears.
And when I hear the arguments about women feeling safer wearing it, I think – shouldn’t we try to make the world a safe place rather than bundle up women out of the public part of that world?
I oppose different kinds of condemnatory language used against women from all sides – whether because they are not sexy, beautiful, perfect or fashionable enough or whether they are seen as not sexless enough, covered enough or drab enough. Too often, remarks about women’s dress are used to denigrate them and put them down.
I am also concerned that banning the burqa in liberal western democracies would mean that women who now feel it is an obligation or sign of religious devotion to wear it, will have less freedom as a result. They won’t be able to venture out, but will be more trapped than ever. How will they be exposed to public life and witness the freedom of other women?
I wonder how much of the debate is really about politics and the highly charged issues of immigration rather than about real freedom for women. And it is women’s freedom that should be our focus here.
While there is so much attention on the tiny number of women who wear the burqa in Western countries, there seems to be much less concern with the symbols of objectification of Western women, and how our culture influences us to dress in certain ways. Is wearing very little a sign of real freedom? Is getting our gear off always a sign of empowerment? And I wonder not so much why women want to cover, as why we want to uncover them.
I spoke about the issue and the divided views within feminism recently on the Channel 7 Morning Show.
Here are some articles that have informed my current thinking on this issue. The first, ‘Veiled Threats’ is by Martha Nussbaum, writing last month in the New York Times.
This extract is worth thinking about:
[An] argument, very prominent today, is that the burqa is a symbol of male domination that symbolizes the objectification of women (that they are being seen as mere objects). A Catalonian legislator recently called the burqa a “degrading prison.” The first thing we should say about this argument is that the people who make it typically don’t know much about Islam and would have a hard time saying what symbolizes what in that religion. But the more glaring flaw in the argument is that society is suffused with symbols of male supremacy that treat women as objects. Sex magazines, nude photos, tight jeans — all of these products, arguably, treat women as objects, as do so many aspects of our media culture. And what about the “degrading prison” of plastic surgery? Every time I undress in the locker room of my gym, I see women bearing the scars of liposuction, tummy tucks, breast implants. Isn’t much of this done in order to conform to a male norm of female beauty that casts women as sex objects? Proponents of the burqa ban do not propose to ban all these objectifying practices. Indeed, they often participate in them. And banning all such practices on a basis of equality would be an intolerable invasion of liberty. Once again, then, the opponents of the burqa are utterly inconsistent, betraying a fear of the different that is discriminatory and unworthy of a liberal democracy. The way to deal with sexism, in this case as in all, is by persuasion and example, not by removing liberty.
Nussbaum followed that up with ‘Beyond the veil: a response’. A different argument about conscience and freedom was addressed to Nussbaum by Feisal G. Mohamed in ‘The burqa and the body electric.’
‘Respecting hijab’, an older piece by Helen Pringle and Shakira Hussein and published on Online Opinion, is also worth reflecting on.
I know I’ve gone back and forth in my arguments. It’s a complex issue and I’m still thinking it through. I would prefer not to see this garb on any woman….but I don’t think brute force bans are the way to get there. And I think we need to recognise objectification and the constraining of true freedom for women in its many guises, not just the one.
10 Responses
I’m almost in complete agreement with you here. I too don’t know where the answer is on this issue. I certainly think that it should be removed for any situation where the face is important; drivers license photos, banks (where motorcycle helmets are banned), etc.
I suppose I lean slightly more towards ‘ban it’, because of a story my parents told me. My father spent some time in the UAE for work, and he and my mother looked at buying local dress (it’s something of a hobby for them). While the men’s robes were all made from natural, breathable materials, the only women’s clothing they could find (burqas), were all made from synthetics and were incredibly hot even in the short time of trying them on. I don’t know if this is unique to the UAE, or if it is a more general situation.
Im a motorcyclist, it takes me ~10 mins to take my gear off and put my gear on. I’ve seen women wearing burqas driving and thought to myself, “there is a legal requirement for the amount of vision a helmet gives”.
They cant see. They have a 1in by 4in window to see out of, and its been proven because i have a nice white mark on my bike from a women in a Burqa clipping me with her mirror.
To me there is no difference between forcing a woman to wear a Burqa and forcing a woman to take her Burqa off. No government should have the right to tell a person what to wear/what not to wear. It doesn’t matter whether you personally agree with the Burqa or not, it is about each individual having the freedom to choose what is right for them. That freedom is what makes our country great!
I don’t agree with the Burqa or religion in general but I do not support a ban!
This documentary really showed me what can happen when a government takes away a woman’s freedom http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F48SinuEHIk
Is that what we will become? Will we have police patrolling the streets forcing Muslim women to uncover themselves? Disgusting!!!
For me banning the burqa is not the issue. The issue is about the equality and freedom of muslim women and that will not be achieved by adding fuel and ignorance to the muslim/ non muslim divide . I can totally understand why women in ‘free’ countries choose to wear the burqa as it is public show of support and pride for their religion and culture and these people should not be victimised. However, I also agree that a full burqua acts as a physical barrier between the wearer and non-muslim society and that also has problems.
Personally I would like all muslim women to feel free to wear whatever they want and I would hope that in a country like Australia that means something a bit less isolating but that choice has to come from the woman and not any politician.
After all, I would NOT want anyone telling me what to wear!
We are all people, let’s not forget that.
great article melinda and thank you for your honesty re ambivalence -that takes guts.
one thing that i do wonder though is the impact of facial expressions in communication – going by the scientific literature it seems they play a significant role, and i wonder how this affects power relations and identity of these women
i think cultural relativism has a place and it is difficult to know fully what is appropriate until we have walked in another’s shoes.
this is a very interesting topic & i’d love to see more on the issue : )
Great post Melinda. Like you I “don’t know” about an issue I have no real personal experience with.
Several years ago, I was involved with a TV show (ABC Hack) and heard some young Muslim women (20-something) talk about their burqua and how it was a conscious choice they were happy to make.
They said they never felt disempowered – quite the opposite in fact. I think this was cut from the final show that aired but the women said they felt more powerful in a buqua because they were judged by things like intellect and personality rather than their hairstyle.
Just though I’d add this because it has always stuck with me while watching the spin unfold in the media.
First I think there is a lot of confusion as what we’re discussing here. Melinda has only included images of the Afghan chadri (aka Afghan Burqa or “shuttlecock burqa”) which is odd as this type is very rarely seen in Australia. I’ve never seen a woman wearing this type anywhere in Australia and I suspect a very low percentage of the Muslim population does in this country. The most common here is the Hijab, which is the headscarf type and I’ve seen a few women wearing the Niqaab (just the eyes showing). So what are we talking about here? The chadri? The Niqaab? All three? What about the Iranian Chador? What about the Pakistani Dupatta? Should they be on the table too?
I think it’s really disappointing they we and other countries are having this conversation. To me it shows a real lack of understanding and respect of Islam. Belgium recently passed laws outlawing the chadri. But according to the BBC only around 30 women wear this kind of veil in Belgium, out of a Muslim population of around half a million. So what exactly is the point of this law? What is the point of further marginalising Muslims? Haven’t we had enough of this stuff over the last nine years?
To me the whole thing is nothing but dog whistle politics. It’s being dressed up as an equality issue when it’s nothing more than xenophobia. You can’t claim those who wear the Hijab or Burqa are being forced to wear it then create laws to force them not to wear it. It smacks of hypocrisy and paternalism.
Its more a security point of view, well thats mine anyways.
Thanks for your humility in dealing with this complex issue!
I agree that it would be dangerous territory to have a government that banned the burqa – it would potentially leave women feeling oppresed by their government and not free to express their religious convictions. This is a slippery slope!
Whilst I don’t share the Islamic convictions about women’s dress I also don’t share the secular western convictions about highly sexualised and objectifying fashion trends either. A western society that encourages young girls to look sexy is not a healthy alternative to a religious society that encourages (even extreme) covering up.
I would, however, like to be assured that Isalmic women know they are equal with men and respected and that what they wear is a relflection of their own religious convictions not the convictions of men around them.