If the author is indeed serious about championing womens' human rights, why does she not go in 'to bat' for the unfairly-treated women who live in some Muslim counties?

The idea implicit in the author's arguments is that liberal democratic societies will have to compromise with Islamic ideology,because Moslems certainly won't compromise with liberal democracy, so for Moslem women, 1% of a loaf is better than nothing.

The notion that, the accommodation to Islamic misogyny is somehow respecting Moslem womens' human rights is a remarkable piece of sophistry, the problem is Islam, not entirely Western prejudices.
The solution to this dilemma is that Moslem women should participate fully in public life, any aspects of Islamic ideology that deny them that right should be not be tolerated.

The author presents the usual confusion between multiculturalism, "Islamohobia" and the bizarre notion that Moslems constitute a "race".

Raycom,

Yes,I've often wondered why Western feminists don't take their campaigns to Moslem countries. It's a real mystery isn't it?

Terrorism laws that shaped the Northern Ireland ‘troubles’ have been replaced with laws that shape how Muslim women are subjugated in France. Laws banning Muslim women’s ‘cover’ might yet come to Australia.

Jocelynne, in blaming the terrorism laws that the British invaders placed on the Irish settlers, for the troubles in Ireland, has twisted the issue around; ignoring the fact that in this case the Muslims equate to the new British arrivals, because they are the new arrivals in the country, trying to impose their way of dressing and religious views on the old inhabitants who don't like it.

Hitler branded the Jews with the star of David to isolate them from the mainstream. In donning these robes en masse the muslims are doing the same thing, separating themselves from the Australian mainstream . German experience proves that this is not a good thing. In fact it is the equivalent to practicing apartheid. Small groups of people like the skinheads who dress outrageously or judges in wigs as somebody mentioned above, are too small in number to be any huge threat to society as a whole, but the muslims number in the millions. That is a hugely different number and much more threatening than a few dozen or hundred outsiders like judges etc

I saw an interesting, informed and intelligent debate on this matter while overseas late last year.

The outcome was that Muslim women represented a tiny minority of the total population in France and of that group a very small number of those wore burqas.

It turned out that about 80% of all the burqa wearers were actually recent and overzealous converts to Islam, not a group that was being "forced" to wear them but women who had made a conscious and independent choice.

A law that targets a tiny minority of the population is somewhat strange. It's like saying blue-eyed people born on August 4th cannot use Public Transport between 4pm and 6pm on a weekday.

It's also amusing to think that in order to show it's wrong to force women to wear burqas they pass a law forcing them NOT to wear them.

I had the impression it was more more a local political point-scoring matter on behalf of their hard-right conservatives (like our own Tampa affair) than something of major concern to the general population that required urgent legislation.

It is funny how Jocelynne is so concernd about 'anti Muslim Hatred in Britain and Europe", when the only "hatred" being exhibited at the moment is Muslim hatred towards the people of the host European countries they now inhabit.

Yoo hoo Jocelynne. So far in Britain, there have been five serious Muslim terrorist incidents, four bombings (three were prevented by the alert Police), and one attempt to poison London's water supply (also thwarted by the police). Where is your article about Muslim hatred towards Britons and Europeans? Who is killing who here?

The act of wearing a burqua is a politcal act, in the same way that wearing a swastica armband is a political act. The wearing of a burqua denotes that the wearer is either a disciple of the most extreme forms of Islamofascism, or is at least the victim of a family who forces her to wear the uniform of militant Islam.

Jocelynne writes as if the dangers of Islamic fascism is none existent. Sorry girl, you must be a Klingon to think like that.

You had better get with the program Jocelynne, because the people who you are defending would like to see all of your rights as a female comjpletely destroyed. And I will stick my neck out and say that most white people would prefer Nazi totalitarianism to Muslim totalitarianism, on the basis that Muslim totalitarianism is worse.

So, unless you start supporting your own culture and your own people, the danger is that future generations of young white people, fearful of the cancer in their society, will begin to defend themselves by wearing swastica armbands. How will you react to that? Will you defend their right to use fashion to make a political statement that you oppose?

"The times they are a changin'" Jocelynne. In a future Europe where Muslims will become a majority, who's concept of "Human Rights" is diametrically opposed to your humanitarian ideals, your own kids might consider your multicultural ideals to be totally inappropriate to the continunce of enlightened western civilisation.

"It's also amusing to think that in order to show it's wrong to force women to wear burqas they pass a law forcing them NOT to wear them."

No Wobbles, we need legislation that is completely non-discrimatory.

It should be an offence to hide ones identity in public. Just as people wearing motorcycle helmets or other face covers are required to remove such before entering banks and other premises, wearing anything that obscures your identity in public areas needs to be illegal. Only exceptions being medical reasons.

There is no religious compulsion for Muslim women in Australia to wear the burqa or similar full head and body cover. It is a cultural gesture - one I am beginning to consider inflammatory, made by some Muslim women, or more likely required by their controllers - husbands or fathers, with a particular axe to grind.

If I remember correctly there was an online poll run by 9msn last year regarding this issue and over 90% of respondents agreed the burqa should be banned in Australia. It seems that as a Nation we find this garment highly inappropriate in our culture.