Ban the burka

There's a fellow on YouTube named Pat Condell, who specializes in posting videos that slam religious fundamentalism, particularly Islamic fundamentalism. Today I watched a video of his in which he takes on the subject of the burka -- that shroud-like garment that some (thankfully not most) ultra-observant Muslim women wear which covers every inch of their bodies, including their faces. Most interestingly about this particular video is that he criticizes western nations and especially feminists for (apparently) tolerating the practice of burka-wearing outside of Islamic countries. In this one video, he refers to the burka as:

a disguise
an ugly mobile tarpaulin
a ridiculous outfit (twice)
dressing up like Darth Vader
a mobile tent
a horrible garment
a dehumanizing shroud
a cloak of death
a mantle of misery
a sartorial prison
a sinister garment
and that the wearer might as well be wearing a yellow star

He goes on to mention how burka-wearing women often have babies who are born with rickets because of severe vitamin-D deficiency due to lack of exposure to sunlight (here's an article about that. Note especially a comment afterwards from TedHutchinson). In another video I watched soon after this one, some statistics were shared which showed that the incidence of rape had skyrocketed in some European countries where there had been a large influx of orthodox muslims...and many of those rapes were perpetrated on non-muslim women...women who obviously would not have been wearing hijab or a burka...by muslim men.

Now, it's become extremely un-PC to be critical of other people's religious habits. Not only can it be seen as un-PC, it can also be dangerous, especially when you're being critical of Muslim practices. And I think this is really unfortunate, because it keeps us from speaking out about things which we feel strongly are wrong. It forces us to tolerate, among "other people" things that we would instantly decry and outlaw if someone tried to enforce it among our own people.

I'm not about to say that if you come to this country you must remove any visible trace of your country of origin or hide your religious preferences behind the closed doors of your home. We see more and more women wearing hijab in Ottawa, and I'm sure this is true almost everywhere in the world. Okay...it's a little different, but so what? I don't remember ever hearing anyone complain about Indian and Pakistani immigrants wearing saris. In fact, I've often wished I could go about in a sari, or in those comfy-looking little tunic/pants combos many of them wear. Such beautiful fabrics! Such practical clothes for hot weather.

Hijab doesn't look as nice (to me), but hey, who am I to say they shouldn't wear it? I understand it's their way of dressing modestly. And to be honest, sometimes it's refreshing to see girls and women in hijab after driving through the Byward Market and seeing beautiful young women trashing themselves out in skirts that barely cover their bottoms and tops that leave nothing to the imagination.

I must admit, however, that I do find it rather puzzling to see hijab-wearing teenagers going around in head-scarves above and very tight pants below, heavy makeup and sexy-strappy high-heeled shoes. I recognize that they're doing what they can to satisfy the demands of their religion (and their fathers) and their own desire to fit in in this country. But...it's just weird. They're wearing hijab to be modest, which translates to non-sexy, but they're doing everything they can to be sexy in other ways. They're violating the whole point of hijab.

Burkas are another matter entirely. These are garments which, as Pat Condell points out, were never proscribed by the Koran. These are garments which are entirely and completely the invention of jealous, sexually twisted men who can't look at a woman without seeing a sexual object, so they must cover them up so completely that they can't even look in their eyes. It takes very little imagination to see how a society that would force women to wear burkas is the same society that would stone a woman to death for the sin of allowing herself to be raped.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say something very controversial here. I think burkas, or any garment that completely covers a person, including their face, should be against the law in Canada. If I can be arrested in Saudi Arabia for going around with my hair uncovered, then why shouldn't we be allowed to make a law in Canada forbidding people to go around in burkas? Because in Canada we're willing to be tolerant. But I think tolerance should only go so far. Turban-wearing mounties pushed my limit about as far as it would go. Burkas should be against the law. At the very, VERY least, women should not be allowed to wear burkas to vote or conduct any other official business, including at banks, government offices, schools, etc.

And that's just addressing the issue of public safety and security. Good lord... ANYONE could be under one of those things. Fuck... Osama Bin Laden's probably been going around free as a bird under a burka for the last eight years. No wonder he can't be found. Can you imagine the din and cry if American and Canadian soldiers had been ordered to look under burkas to identify who's in there? The Taliban would have hired North Korea to bomb the shit out of us by now if we tried that.

But it's the point that we haven't heard an outcry and a sustained campaign against burkas by feminist organizations which was what troubled me the most about Pat Condell's video. He's absolutely right. WHY haven't there been protests, ad campaigns, lobbying in D.C. and Ottawa to ban these horrible things and free women from their fabric prisons? Is it fear? Is it political correctness? Is it the bullshit that some burka-wearing women spew that they're happy in their burkas? I don't know. But I agree with Condell that it's a very, very disturbing situation that really needs to end.

And I think we need to start by banning them in Canada. Now.