Dickens
Sarnia
No. It isn't a religious requirement as far as I know. It's purpose seems to be displaying the subservience of women who wear them.
As far as I am aware, the Koran does not, explicitly, demand that women are completely covered in this way, but calls for both men and women to be covered 'modestly'.
I once saw a family group in Russel Square, London, where the women were all wearing the niqab and the loose, black, abaya, whereas the men (apart from one elder family member) were wearing tight jeans and t-shirts.
So clearly, the demand for 'modesty' didn't apply to them.
Should we care? I don't know. But it's so alien to our own culture. And, as a feminist of sorts, this subservience of women is something I find hard to accept.
Of course, someone will tell me possibly that the women might choose to dress like that. Maybe they do. But, what if they don't?
Women fight for equality, not to be treated as second-class citizens, not to be coerced by men into subservience - yet multi-culturalism demands that we make exceptions. And this, I think, is what causes problems, the problem of accepting multi-culturalism - where all cultures are supposedly equal, when clearly they aren't. At least, not if the women are being forced to wear a garment they would rather not wear.
I don't care about the men wearing western casual dress - but the hypocrisy of such men is worrying. I once had an online debate with a Muslim male about western culture. It wasn't so much what he said, but his attitude towards me, as a female with an opinion was quite unpleasant, to say the least, particularly as the conversation started quite civilly. It ended with him suggesting that eventually western women would be forced to come to heel (for want of a better way of expressing it).
... these are the issues that are not addressed, and doing so is likely to be met with accusations of bigotry. I don't know how many women dress 'modestly' either to please their men or because it's demanded of them - maybe they are a minority, there's no way of knowing. If they are doing so by choice, then that's their choice, so who's to say they should be banned from wearing the garment? Although I do agree that covering the face in institutions like nurseries, schools, etc, should be. And - do the women object? If they work in these institutions, probably not.
As far as I am aware, the Koran does not, explicitly, demand that women are completely covered in this way
It does not.
It is subjugation of women by men and not a religious requirement.
