Yuyutsu

seat belts save lives. The burqa oppresses lives.

Dear readers thank you for taking the time to comment. I wholeheartedly respect our own experiences and perceptions shape our thinking and we are all entitled to an opinion. I hope no offence is taken but I simply hope to caste some light from personal experiences, less islamic teachings and doctrines.

Hi Leoj First revelation from quran was "read!". It is a duty on muslims to read and gain knowledge. Unfortunately a country's 'culture' may conflict with girls gaining education. The west has seen profound cultural change in the role of women in recent decades. Yaay! The tide is changing around the women albeit slowly. I have the pleasure of engaging with 1000s of academia and educated Muslim women from Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, South Africa, Turkey, Russia & beyond.

How embarrassing SingletonEngineer - Yes proofreading error after editing re stats. My apologies for the glitch. You so SO right!

Dear Old Man, I choose to live in the present. The past has gone and although there are lessons to be learnt from history, I look to give and receive unconditionally. Let's start with a 'fair go'

hello ttbn. Many thanx for your comments from previous post.Yes, I don't have the guts to express liberation in a 'walking tent.' I speak for myself... I want to engage, collaborate and be respected for being a human being so it wouldn't serve me to be totally concealed. Pleased you like the title. No threat intended just an impactful headline that worked to get attention.
I believe many social issues brewing unsolved over decades and politicians not helping eg dysfunctional families in society, drug & alcohol, lack of resources in education etc. The media have an agenda and Islamophobia latest craze. Education and dialogue key to living in harmony.

Wow Alan B - Remembering me as 'nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more', I feel I know you from a past life. I hear where you are coming from. I AGREE - Australia is a freedom loving country. Much work needs to be done to bridge the divide though. Hope we can unite to articulate the same message. BTW, most Muslim women's archetype is one of warrior queen not not owned property.

Veteran Armchair Critic, I bow and humbly welcome your comment. There is nothing wrong with "Go and get stuffed". It crosses everyone's mind if it doesn't pass their lips. You hit it on the head. We need to LEARN to live together. God knows families and friends find it hard to live together these days and we're looking to be a multicultural nation with 24M people trying to express individual views and ideas. What a mess we've got ourselves into.
I'm looking to learn and share with others. My late neighbours were legends. Two true veteran aussie critics sharing teachable stories. May Larry and Thelma rest in peace.

kactuz, adab and akhlaq are the two arabic words for 'manners' and 'morality'. Weekly sermons and religious lessons specifically cover behaviour, good character, respect etc. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) putting aside what many think of him was reknown for leadership qualities and a role model for social interaction, justice, kindness etc. I've not read the book but Prophet Muhammad was honored by US supreme court in 1935 as one of the greatest lawgivers of the world (taken from title).

Yuyutsu -you spoke too soon. Last week I saw a woman in a burqa riding a bike in the park. I bet she felt liberated.

Welcome to this post Foxy. "The majority of those who don the burqa are forced to do so by either cultural and familial expectations". Are you sure? I've spoken to many many woman AND they are adamant it's what they choose to wear. I don't know any man forced to grow his beard and can successfully convince others it's part of his identity?

P Hanson looks much better in the burqa and Parliament should have orders for her to wear it.

najia

History is full of women who proudly and publicly exhibit their masochism. In most societies, masochism in women is a badge of honour. Whatever the submissive requirement, women will dutifully oblige.

Whether it's burying their identity under a shroud, or exposing their naked or scantily clad bodies for public consumption, women will do whatever pleases. It all depends on how their emotional makeup combines with their culture.

I don't see any difference between women who choose to publicly cover their entire bodies and women who publicly expose their bodies. It's two sides of the one patriarchal coin.

"What a mess we've got ourselves into."

I understand that it may be intended as an inclusive comment, but is it really? The problem is not wearing of a burka, a niquab or other intentional symbols, but the emotional and religious issues which are attached to displays of those symbols and which thus are entirely the responsibility of those who do so.

The first responses to that sentence were along the lines of "and who's got us here, we were OK, no need for additional public signs of division, then this - the bloody burka argument again, which is about as divisive as anything can be, a public expression of otherness, intended to be and very effective at demonstrating differences in religion, history and ethics, inextricably linked to physical and threats to property, to terrorism and to suppression of women's rights, another bridge which we are being asked to cross, another set of shonky opinions that we are being directed to agree with, more threats to our social institutions, which have more than sufficient issues to deal with already."

Pardon my stream of conflicted emotional non-acceptance of the challenges presented by the symbolism discussed here.

In the same category are intentional, silent, public public expression of challenge and threat as wearing of Ku Klux Klan hoods or sporting of racist slogans on tee-shirts. And so it is.

These symbolic displays are not acceptable or reasonable ways to build a sustainable, safe, inclusive Australia.

This article is not about conflict resolution, it is about bullying and oppression, by the wearer, of others.

The act of wearing a burka, whether in a public place or in the Senate, is no less offensive than openly carrying an assault rifle in a shopping mall. Both are incredibly confronting, they are acts of emotional assault on others. That act violates the rights of others to peaceful enjoyment of their community.

The soft words used by the author do not hide the underlying motivation. Change must come and that change must be initiated by those who currently advocate unnecessary, confronting and offensive behaviour.

It is impolite.