Original Post: http://stfuislamophobes.tumblr.com/post/1186958025/ok-as-for-your-question-no-i-do-not-support
I wanted to respond to the patriotconservative post on September 25, concerning wearing of burqas. I am a woman. I consider myself an atheist/deist, not really sure at this point, but my family is orthodox. I also consider myself very feminist. Having said that, I believe that forbidding women to war burqas in public is an attack on women. As you yourself stated a woman has the right to wear whatever the hell she wants to wear, a mini skirt, men’s pants, or a dress that covers every inch of her skin. It is her right and telling her she should or should not be wearing something infringes on her rights. Forbidding the wearing of a burqa in public is not only infringing on the woman’s rights as a person to wear what she wants, but also infringes on the right of her to practice her religion. It is part of her religion to wear it and if you are going to say she cannot wear it, then ban all crosses, and all Kippahs, and Amish head coverings, and priest collars. Forbidding the wearing of a burqa is aimed specifically at women and specifically at Muslims, thus this is not an overreaction on the part of STFU, Islamaphobes. And if you want to speak of overreaction let’s see what patriotconservative has to say when the government tells him he cannot buy a grenade launcher for ‘personal’ use.
As far as security is concerned, you have addressed this, I can think of many ways of hiding one’s identity. (You can Google “Darth Vader robs _____” fill in the blank) There are also many styles of clothing one can wear to hide a number of weapons, a long skirt or a shoulder holster for example. Should we have everyone be strip searched before they enter any building? Would that be an ok level of privacy infringement for the patriotconservative?
Finally, a law that forbids wearing a burqa in public will put women at risk. If a woman cannot leave the house she cannot actively report abuse, or seek help, or seek an education, or provide for her family, and that puts her at risk. And if we are to believe patriotconservative that all Muslim men are savages then this law delivers an unprotected woman to those savages on a silver platter. Telling her that she cannot leave the house dressed in a way she considers modest is like telling her she must go naked, or that she cannot leave the house without a male accompanying her. The law makers say this will fight women oppression, while in actuality it supports it. It is a step back for the women rights movement as well as the religious freedoms the West seems to be so proud of.
I apologize for the long post, but I felt this issue needs to be addressed before it is allowed to get out of hand. And if patriotconservative would like a quote that is often used by ‘freedom fighters’ to bring it home then perhaps this will “first they came for the Jews…” well this time first they came for the Muslims, whose next?
