Comments on: Will Banning the Burqa and the Niqab Also Thwart Women’s Rights? http://thebucampus.ca/2010/04/will-banning-the-burqa-and-the-niqab-also-thwart-women%e2%80%99s-rights/ Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:36:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Caroline Brunet http://thebucampus.ca/2010/04/will-banning-the-burqa-and-the-niqab-also-thwart-women%e2%80%99s-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-1744 Caroline Brunet Tue, 04 May 2010 01:50:41 +0000 http://thebucampus.ca/?p=1919#comment-1744 You make some very, very good points. And, I agree completely with your first one. As a Westerner, I have internalized a Western point-of-view--a point-of-view that cannot help but manifest itself within my discourses. I actually debated including that point in my article, only because I sensed it may have been, and may have seemed, in some ways discriminatory. In regards to your second point, I do not mean to generalize about Muslim women. I merely mean to create awareness about the Muslim experience with this issue. I am not an expert in the Islamic religion, as I have stated, nor am I a Muslim woman. I am, in fact, the outsider and want to emphasize that(but one who is willing to learn and one who has an open mind!). You also bring up a good point about our post 9/11 North American world--one filled with stereotypes about Muslims (who are often all considered Muslim extremists). Indeed, these stereotypes do cloud judgement. Again, I very much appreciate and value your opinion, thank you for sharing! You make some very, very good points. And, I agree completely with your first one. As a Westerner, I have internalized a Western point-of-view–a point-of-view that cannot help but manifest itself within my discourses. I actually debated including that point in my article, only because I sensed it may have been, and may have seemed, in some ways discriminatory.
In regards to your second point, I do not mean to generalize about Muslim women. I merely mean to create awareness about the Muslim experience with this issue. I am not an expert in the Islamic religion, as I have stated, nor am I a Muslim woman. I am, in fact, the outsider and want to emphasize that(but one who is willing to learn and one who has an open mind!).
You also bring up a good point about our post 9/11 North American world–one filled with stereotypes about Muslims (who are often all considered Muslim extremists). Indeed, these stereotypes do cloud judgement.

Again, I very much appreciate and value your opinion, thank you for sharing!

]]> By: What's In a Name http://thebucampus.ca/2010/04/will-banning-the-burqa-and-the-niqab-also-thwart-women%e2%80%99s-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-1408 What's In a Name Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:26:44 +0000 http://thebucampus.ca/?p=1919#comment-1408 "Let me begin by discussing how the full-body Muslim veil is oppressive" Ah, the world through Western Eyes: It is strange that a Devout Jew may remain relatively inactive once a week for a 24 hour period and we call it Religious, but a Veil worn by a Muslim woman is Oppressive. I am not saying that it is not oppressive and it may very well have been designed to be just that, but so are many things in the name of socio-religious cultural, in the name of abiding by a moral code. If the government or social group required you to fast during daylight hours we would call it oppressive, but we call Ramadan Holy. The Niqab is not a strictly religious thing (many leaders of Islam have denounced those who hide behind that argument) but it is a cultural thing and in the Islamic world, the two are not far apart. Religion is a matter of Faith, a Faith is a matter of Security. These ritual acts are performed to increase one's personal socio-cultural comfort, in the same way that a Christian might take comfort knowing that there is a life after this one. Ms Brunet's points on equality and multiculturalism in North America are valid and something we all must consider: are we putting our money where are mouth is? But to regard the Niqab as an oppressive force is only considering the argument through Western (Liberal) Social Values and ignoring the idea that these veils reflect different ideals and standards. "As Pathak notes, whether a Muslim woman wears the full-body veil or not, she will receive some kind of punishment and feel some kind of loss, either from her adopted country or her home country." Thats throwing a pretty big blanket over the Muslim World and our own. As a side note: The Burqa ban extends beyond a cultural clash. In our Post 9/11 world we are weary of all that is unknown or unseen. The fact that this is arising over an Islamic tradition clouds judgement, but if you were to walk into a Federal Building with a Mask on and demanded service you would be denied regardless of race... “Let me begin by discussing how the full-body Muslim veil is oppressive”

Ah, the world through Western Eyes: It is strange that a Devout Jew may remain relatively inactive once a week for a 24 hour period and we call it Religious, but a Veil worn by a Muslim woman is Oppressive. I am not saying that it is not oppressive and it may very well have been designed to be just that, but so are many things in the name of socio-religious cultural, in the name of abiding by a moral code. If the government or social group required you to fast during daylight hours we would call it oppressive, but we call Ramadan Holy.

The Niqab is not a strictly religious thing (many leaders of Islam have denounced those who hide behind that argument) but it is a cultural thing and in the Islamic world, the two are not far apart. Religion is a matter of Faith, a Faith is a matter of Security. These ritual acts are performed to increase one’s personal socio-cultural comfort, in the same way that a Christian might take comfort knowing that there is a life after this one. Ms Brunet’s points on equality and multiculturalism in North America are valid and something we all must consider: are we putting our money where are mouth is? But to regard the Niqab as an oppressive force is only considering the argument through Western (Liberal) Social Values and ignoring the idea that these veils reflect different ideals and standards.

“As Pathak notes, whether a Muslim woman wears the full-body veil or not, she will receive some kind of punishment and feel some kind of loss, either from her adopted country or her home country.”

Thats throwing a pretty big blanket over the Muslim World and our own.

As a side note: The Burqa ban extends beyond a cultural clash. In our Post 9/11 world we are weary of all that is unknown or unseen. The fact that this is arising over an Islamic tradition clouds judgement, but if you were to walk into a Federal Building with a Mask on and demanded service you would be denied regardless of race…

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