The Burga has the distinction of having deprived the Yanks of Bin Laden who walks around Footsgray everyday in a Burga .

Sorry Blair - my description of the burqa as ridiculous is simply a personal opinion. I think that wearing a garment that restricts movement, vision and interpersonal interaction the way that the burqa does, would make life difficult in various ways. Obviously those who wear them wouldn't agree.

Lots of people wear clothing that I think is ridiculous - like women who wear stilettos and men who wear ties, for example. Baseball caps worn backwards are also pretty ridiculous, but that's just a personal opinion.

<< If the majority of persons in a democracy decide that wearing a burqa in public is offensive, demeaning, etc then wearing the burqa can be banned >>

Yes - just like the majority of persons in democratic Germany in the 1930s decided that Jews should have to wear identifying symbols and be subject to increasingly strict State control. Just because something is supposedly "democratic" doesn't make it right, particularly if one is a member of a marginalised minority.

We're talking about an item of clothing here, which in and of itself is only a problem to the person who's wearing it - except in situations where the safety of others may be compromised by the fact that it renders the wearer unidentifiable. I've suggested that it's reasonable to proscribe wearing the burqa or niqaab in banks and other cash businesses, public transport etc, and TR has also suggested workplaces - with which I'd agree if it can be reasonably claimed that wearing a burqa impedes the capacity of the wearer to do their job.

rpg's suggestion of "above the head when under cover" has merit, although I think that is too general to be able to be generally applied. For example, I operate a cash business in the bush, and there's no way I'd try and enforce a "no hat" rule (although motorcycle helmets are already banned).

online_east: Lawrence Auster - you are kidding, aren't you? That guy is a notorious lunar right wing racist with links to organisations like Stormfront. Not exactly a credible source on the subject of Islam, old son.

It is frivolous to ban the burqa without banning or at the very least, challenging Sharia and the conservative mosques that teach separatism (and hatred of non believers).

This is where feminism stands accused of having its cake and eating it too, or is that lacking in commonsense and ethics? There is staunch support for an idealised, extreme form of multiculturalism that sees conservative mosques and Islamic schools established, yet there is feigned horror about a form of dress, the burqa, because it represents patriarchal oppression of women.

It isn't because the burqa is offensive to some feminists that we should be concerned, rather it is that the Sharia is incompatible with OUR, the Australian population's, laws and ideas of equality and social justice. That concern will always be present and rightly so, as long as the 'traditional' or prevailing conservative interpretation of the Sharia is apparently dominant and is protected by an idealised, politically correct multiculturalism.

It is bunk that any earthly text is the 'word' of god. All were written by humans and all are at best interpretations of God's 'will'.

Muslims must take the lead in establishing Mosques that model tolerance and integration. Plainly that doesn't seem to be happening in France and it isn't happening elsewhere either. Why not, where western education and protection of our laws are available?

I don't care if fundamentalists exist in the world, as long as they do not presume to rule or bother the rest of us. Australia is a secular nation and there have been similar difficulties over the years with other fundamentalist religions trying to tell democratically elected governments what to do.

As evidenced by the Crazy Monk Tony Abbott, shadow minister for families (got to be a joke that one!) who rolled logs in front of the morning after pill on behalf of his Catholic Archbishop, certain religions still try to re-establish their previous power over us. We don't want more of the same!

Ban the burqa? What a gutless, back-door way of standing up for freedom, democratic rights and the rule of our laws, not theirs.

<< Ban the burqa? What a gutless, back-door way of standing up for freedom, democratic rights and the rule of our laws, not theirs. >>

Here's a first, I agree with Cornflower for a change.

It is a very gutless way to solve a problem. Freedom cannot be enforced - an oxymoronic approach with the emphasis on 'moron'.

Not a jot of consideration has been given to the women who habitually wear a burqa. Whatever their reasons, one thing a burqa will provide the wearer is a sense of protection and privacy. I can only imagine that a female who has spent her entire life covered from head to toe would experience extreme anxiety on the thought of walking outside in even a long-sleeve top and trousers. This is not an issue that can be solved by passing a discriminatory law. We need a sensitive, educational approach - no change will occur in the nature of the burqa wearing woman if she fears to go outside. If she feels supported and safe to relate to the outside world there is better chance of her achieving education, driving skills and social skills all of which will empower her to CHOOSE whether or not to continue wearing the burqa.

No one ever achieved a sense of self-determination by being treated as a freak.

The burqa's a psychological and physical restraint, a prison, designed to restrict, isolate, bar communication, transparency and social interaction, other than within the designated suppressive faction.

As for a feeling of safety and comfort, it's the opposite. Black body coverings absorb heat, restricting vision, movement and leaving wearers vulnerable to accident and attack. Burqa wearers shouldn't be given licences, they can't see to drive when vision is a few degrees straight ahead, nor control a vehicle with such restrictive clothing. What if the police pull them up and they refuse to reveal their identity, or in court, or when dealing with authorities. The penalty and psychological suffering applied to these women by their religion and debauched men is huge on any level, it's discriminatory, prejudiced and separatist. Those wearing it by choice, are those who wish to fracture society and force the implementation of sharia law, as we are seeing in Britain and other parts of Europe.

What social skills do you get from being in our society wearing a burqa, you're restricted in communicating, can't talk to men, go anywhere without supervision and 90% of the time only with a close male relative or female elder. As for education, they're forced into religious school and rarely get beyond puberty before begin dragged from schooling, covered and married off. Their sons are seen as superior and more important than them and have the religious right to kill their mother or sisters if they speak to a man outside the family. let's not forget female sexual mutilation associated with the cult of the burqa, or forced arranged marriages. Yep, lots of freedom and empowerment in a burqa.

The people have objected to mosques and schools being built, but it's the politically correct bureaucrats and elitist ideologists who allow these things to be built against the wishes of the people. They're the ones advocating more and more religious conservatives being brought to this country and given free rein, whilst real people have more and more restriction on freedoms and a say in the direction of our country.

While I fervently support the right of anyone to follow their heart, and despise laws that unnecessarily interfere, the banning of the burqa and hijab has more than one facet.

Conservative Islam severely discriminates against women, and while some women genuinely desire to comply and wear these garments, my feeling is that many women do so from marital and community pressure.

After I play sport, if I don't consume alcohol or have only one light beer, there is no peer pressure to have more due to the strict drink driving laws and the understanding of the consequences.

If the burqa and hijab were banned, how many women would be upset and how many genuinely pleased?

Freedom of choice means no pressure from the goverment or from society.