And this is no innocent comment! I love the headscarf and I hate the way it is demonised by writers like this. The dignity of this garment and the demeanor of those wearing it brings a grace to dress which has long been lost to western women. I bet they don't have the problems with skin cancer and premature aging which are rife amongst Australians. Religious belief and ideas about modesty apart it's probably the most practical fashion accessory possible for our climate. I think it should be encouraged for all of us!

There is a health problem associated with wearing Muslim dress. Women do not always get sufficient contact with sunlight - which is as bad as too much contact. There is a vitamin D deficiency and a local exercise class for Muslim women has a number of women have associated medical conditions.
I know Muslim women who are happy to wear their headscarves and others who do not. I also know a number of women who are required to wear them and resent that fact.
Perhaps it becomes a problem when women are required to do something against their wishes or when they believe that they do not have an alternative.

"You boys really need to stop getting your jocks in a twist - it is a small piece of material. Nothing more."

Meanwhile, back in the real world....


TEHRAN, April 17, 2008 (AFP) - Iranian police will confront women in private offices, or even socialising in cafes, whose dress is deemed improper, as part of a continued morality crackdown, Tehran's police chief said on Thursday.
Police have been enforcing the crackdown for the past year and its morality patrol officers have handed tens of thousands of warnings to women on Tehran's streets.
Including offices and cafes -- which so far have not been targeted -- would mark a major expansion of the drive

I guess it is a bit like the swastika. In days of old the swastika was symbolic of good fortune, or something like that. More recently it has become symbolic of something twisted, thanks to Hitler.
Same with the headscarf more recently. As more and more people discover how mentally insane Muhammed’s message is (Islam), the headscarf will also become symbolic of something twisted.

There are also those who wear only the head 'scarf' as a political statement.

There's a lot of anti-islam sentiment these days and some of them do the 'loud and proud' thing for effect. And good for them.

Oh yeah, men like to comment on womens clothing much in the same way that a women will tell you 'clothes make the man' and that shirt doesnt go with that other bit.

Looking at the large number of politically correct responses to this thoughtful article, responses which aim at distracting from or suppressing any real debate on what is a very real issue reminds me of Stephen Fry's comments:
"If I had a large amount of money I should found a hospital for those whose grip on the world is so tenuous that they can be severely offended by words and phrases yet remain unoffended by the injustice, violence and oppression that howls daily."
The wearing of the Hijab is nothing to do with fashions statements (like the wearing of scarves) or health (protection from the sun). It is a statement about women's (subordinate and inferior) place in society. No amount of shallow and/or, may I say, less than honest, in a intellectual rigour sense, argument about asking what the women who wear it think, can change that fact. The fact that someone can suggest that one should ask the women who wear it shows quite clearly that they do not have a clue about the issue or the society/system that imposes it on their women. The fundamental point that has been missed in that is that, apart from a rare few, the women who are forced to wear it are not allowed by their men to speak out.
Getting back to Stephen Fry, most of the responses here take the politically correct line and strongly argue that we can argue about the fact that we should not be arguing about it because we do not understand the Muslims but we cannot argue against the howling oppression inherent in the forcing of women to wear it.