Okay not really but I have seen quite a few diaries on the incident with the Obama campaign and the women wearing headscarves. I found it very interesting to read the comments and wanted to give my prospective on the matter. I am an American who is currently living overseas in London. London has a sizeable Muslim population and I see women wearing headscarves every day. I also see woman wearing what American's would refer to as a burqa's and also women in face veils.
My husband and I do not live far from a street called Edgeware Road in London. Edgeware Road is a sort of hangout street for the Arab population. Every weekend and weeknight you can see all sorts of people hanging out at the many Lebanese restaurant smoking a hookah. It also has a market every Saturday in the morning. The first time I went to the market I was in for a surprise, quite a few women were shopping in full burqa's with face veils.
I have always prided myself on being a liberal strong feminist and this shocked me. I almost did a double take. My husband who could sense my discomfort and outrage quietly told me to move along. When we were in private, I was quite opinoned. I had seen pictures of a burqa but I had never actually seen any women wearing one. How could this happen in liberal London? How dare their husbands force them to wear one? For the first month in London I walked around this road in silent rage. Was it rude to lecture these woman on standing up for women's rights?
And then something happened, my husband and I were in the grocery star shopping and we were next two women in burqa's. One was elderly and in a wheelchair and the other women looked fairly young (judging by the eyes). "How ridiculous", I said to my husband. "No one is looking at the elderly woman, it's unfair to make her wear a burga." He replied, "The elderly lady is probably the one making the daughter (in-law) wear one in the first place" I stopped and thought about that and realized that he was probably right. These women in London are not being forced to wear burqa's. They are doing it as an expression of their religion. Some may be forced but a good number are doing it for a reason.
I may not agree with the premise but I do agree that we all have the right to wear and express ourselves however we like. It was on this day that I stopped being offended and actually started looking around. I realized that head scarf's worn by many women are not all the same. Some are gorgeous with great materials. There is a variety of ways it is worn.
Please see this bbc article for a great description and understanding.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
I also realized that burqa's were not all the same. Some are very plain and other's have elaborate designs and trimmings. I actually begin to think I might like a burqa. I don't have to worry about what I'm wearing out of the house and I don't comb my hair. Score for me.
I should state before anyone accuses me of supporting burqa's that I do not support forcing women to wear one. I just realized that maybe I was being intolerant about why some women choose to wear them.
Listen, I think the whole premise is silly. I love the human body and think that if men get to show it so can I. But I do realize that by being closed minded about why other people might want to wear them showed some bad characteristics on my part.
Moving along to the Obama incident...it was wrong of the volunteer to ask those women to move. It was a headscarf, not a burqa with a face veil and even if it was who cares. It is such a non issue to me because I see so many women in headscarfs every day. Maybe we as a American's need to expand our horizons and realize that lots of women wear these as a sign of faith. I think Obama should give a speech where he intentionally sends messages about his crowds. One day all women in burqa's, another day all white men over the age of 75, etc.
So what is my point? If seeing women choosing to wear headscarf and burqa makes you uncomfortable maybe the problem is them, it's you.