Living in a multicural neighbourhood and enjoying the friendships of my neighbours, they being from the wide populace of the world as myself, to see a masked female in any daily life situation, I find disturbing and see a barrier of human communication

My understanding of the cover up for muslim women was that it was a statement about the inabillity of men to control themselves. The uncovered meat scenario put by Hilali. Do I have that wrong?

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20646437-601,00.html

If that is the case then perhaps the author might consider "Muslim women need to understand that men don’t need a nanny and can look after themselves."

There are exceptions just as there are exceptions to the idea that full coverings are worn as a free choice of the woman wearing them.

I did find an interesting piece (which still did not explain the meaning) in OLO's history http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3831

And on http://muslimvillage.com/forums/index.php?s=173b8864eb53138f5a8dd734e9d916dd&showtopic=40562&st=0&p=649239&#entry649239

"The unveiling of women...imprisoned women in their look and clothing thus exaggerating their ascribed status as women, [while] the veiling of women has given rise to expectation of achievement and work. It has freed women from fascination of men with their look and also has forced them to compete if they are to enjoy their rights as human beings. The agressiveness and professionalities of many of the new veiled women generation are a pleasant welcome to the passive and patronised unveiled women of modernised generation. (Taken from "Cultural Changes in Male-Female Relations" by Givechian)"

There was also some interesting material at http://www.uws.edu.au/equity_diversity/equity_and_diversity/tools_and_resources/conference_documents/the_hijab_as_social_tool

R0bert

It seems to me there is more to this than meets the eye:
--We’ve had Muslim communities living in our midst since very early in the piece and there has been, up till recently, little to no agitation to wear burkas etc when and where one might like. Come to think of it, I don’t recall seeing burkas etc on the streets at all, until recently (?).
--Further, the cases where the ‘right’ to wear burkas etc have been made have been spearheaded , in a lot, if not most cases, by some of the most liberal Muslims –individuals, who you would think would not be entirely at home in a fundamentalist society.

I tend to think it has more to do with the gangism that a multicultural society fosters, than any real religious commitment.

I am unconvinced that those who don the burqua in Australia are doing it through any compulsion by their menfolk. Rather it is because they are showing their commitment to their cultural and religious identity. The burqua is the most obvious badge they could choose to make their statement about THEIR (not their spouse's) Islam.

What it also demonstrates is that in Australia the woman is the powerful prosletyser of Islam in the home and in the community. It is not some sort of Stockholm reaction to men and 'patriarchy', nor is it evidence of current subjugation by men, it is their deliberate choice. It also has much more to do with what they are saying to the community around them than anything else.

It is no surprise that when larger groups of migrants settle together they can revert to fundamentalist traditions that are even stronger than in their home country. Some traditions are positive, some less so and others run counter to Australia's laws.

What this should be saying to decision makers is to tread carefully and not take large numbers from any one country at a time. It is far better to be proactive than reactive.

I wonder what young men and women are raised by women who wear the burqua as a flag. Banning the burqua could confirm what they have already been told. It is infinitely better to enforce the usual dress rules that apply to everyone and make sense for their practical purposes.

Any host country that willingly accepts migrants and refugees has a right to set down rules regarding the cultural practices introduced by the newcomers. The host country also has an obligation to ensure that those rules are reasonable.

By most Western criteria, the hajib, when worn without face covering, tends to just blend in as another style of dress within a multicultural society. By contrast, however, the burka is very confronting when worn in a public setting where women's common style of dress is much freer. On this basis, I believe that Western governments are operating within reasonable limits to ban the wearing of the burka in public.

Multiculturalism as a belief system does not assume that ALL cultural customs must be tolerated. It's about trying to find some reasonable degree of mutual respect and commonality among many cultures who, for one reason or another, are living side by side.

Great, now some REAL discussion.

Cornflower,

I have pondered the Australian situation regarding the burqa. While I can understand recent arrivals still wearing the the dress of their fatherland (Iran, Afghanistan etc), I puzzle over the donning of the burqa by Australian-born-women; particularly converts to Islam. Why an Australian-girl who has always had the choice to wear non-restricting clothing like trousers or to dress up in something a bit 'glam' for a special event or night-out, would then willingly cover herself in a tent because she has converted to Islam; that really puzzles me.

I do accept the influence of "Stockholm-Syndrome" - like in the male-dominated such as Afghanistan (I thank my lucky stars I wasn't born in a country where women are assaulted for even attending school or walking freely without a male "escort" aka "guard"). Until there is a complete regime change, these abuses of human rights will unfortunately continue.

I also accept people may find the religion of Islam appealing, much as I accept people convert to Christianity or Hinduism, whatever, while freely admitting I don't 'get' formal religion. But to cover oneself from head to foot after a life running free under the Aussie sun, no I don't understand; it is confronting and a further example of the worst excesses of religious dogma.

That said, I do not believe creating laws to tell people how to dress is the answer either; that is a step towards authoritarianism.

When I worked in Public Housing I often interviewed women wearing the full burqa, while I found it difficult because I couldn't make eye contact or read body language, the women themselves were just people like anyone else, but I felt a kind of sorrow for them.

I remain optimistic that the extremes of Islam (along with the extremes of all religions) will eventually fade as people adopt Western mores, become better educated not only in science and the natural world but in all religions and see that no one religion is the 'true' one but take what wisdom is there and leave behind the superficial like dress codes.