LOL, perhaps we need government regulation to put Manolo Blahnik et. al. out of business?

Philo wrote:

"Personally know I could not do honest business with a person whose face I could not see."

I see, so you never conduct business by phone, mail or email?

At the end of the day, this is about fashion. Religious or otherwise, we are asked to respect the woman underneath however many threads (and however arranged), she chooses to put on (or not). Simple as that.

Hamlet, Yep I'd ban all religious clothing and paraphernalia. T shirts, they are a part of our culture. I doubt that you would see covered muslim or orthodox jews wearing a T Shirt in public, might be nice though.

I deal with people from all walks of life in Australia, mostly from Sudan at the moment. They wear very colourful clothing, the women wear scarves wrapped around their hair, with long flowing dresses. The men wear robes at times. They are bright communicative, Friendly and they look great, enjoying their culture is a pleasure. I also deal with other cultures, most are a credit to their country and a bonus to ours.

However dealing with religious culture is another thing, clothed muslims, orthodox jews, evangelistic christians, are all hell to deal with. The Hijab is a religious statement, not fashion. Personally, if I was running this country, I would ban religion from public life and keep it in the home and places of worship except for special occasions. If people can”t accept that, then they can leave. Freedom of choice also refers to our choice to not have these people offended us, by their ignorant and discriminative religious attitudes.

Secular countries are the only ones that are surviving at the moment. But the relentless pressure that religion forces upon us must be stopped, so that our society can continue to function as it should. Rather than slowly be taken over, whilst the politically correct fluff themselves up, as our society goes down. We must have standards that reflect and protect our culture, or else we will end up like Israel, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, England, a lot of Europe and the world.

For all the politically correct, just look at what is happening in Europe regarding Islams infiltration. Better still go there, it is an experience to behold.

It is equally oppressive to force a woman to take off her veil as it is to force her to wear one. The difference between a free society and others is that we let people, even women, live and let live. If anyone wants to walk the streets in a loin cloth or a plastic bag or a sailor suit, I really couldn't care less.
However, it is not acceptable for male members of another religion, who live here, to refuse to shake my hand, or to obey the instructions of a female teacher. Like the Dutch Minister, I would also cancel a meeting with men who refused to shake my hand. Respect must work both ways. I respect your right to wear a hijab and I expect you and the men of your faith to respect my right not to.

Hmmm it's a tricky one - because surely an individual has the right to choose who will physically touch their body.