The burqua. Should it be banned?
For many Muslim women, recent converts in particular, the burqua is a public proclamation of their faith, and worn with pride.
I am from an alien culture whose individuals would be stoned to death in many Islamic nations. I have a problem with invisible women and much of Islam has a problem with me and would condemn me to death.
February 11, 1996:
India is a paradise after Pakistan, and soon after passing the India-Pakistan border, I meet an exotic woman clad in beautiful shawls who spontaneously wishes me good luck on my journey. This makes me strangely happy. It's been a long time since I saw a woman. In eastern Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan, I saw only men, and now, when a woman in the street even smiles at me, the whole world looks better. The landscape is the same as in Pakistan, but still, so much more beautiful.
Göran Kropp, Ultimate High: My Everest Odyssey, 1999.
Women who are forbidden to expose themselves to sunlight:
This is not just a western conspiracy to get Hijab wearing Muslimas to modify their habits of dress. It is a documented fact that religious women who dress modestly can and do seem to suffer more vitamin D deficiencies than do women who don’t cover. Jewish Women, Christian Women, Muslim Women, Hindu Women, Atheist Women and in fact ANY woman who does not get enough sun or vitamin D in her diet from other sources can and probably will have health problems.
Let’s identify one half of the underlying problem. Women (not just Muslim women) don’t seem to be getting enough sun. OK, that is simple. Now the question, Why?
The studies above focused on Muslim women because of the way they dress. It was assumed that because “they” were so different and went to “extremes” in covering, that “they” were obvious candidates for certain vitamin deficiencies. Many researchers chose to overlook religious Jewish or Christian women who choose to dress in modest attire that is every bit as concealing as your average Muslima. They also dismissed the large female populations who work long hours in office buildings and other indoor occupations where sun exposure is at a minimum. Also excluded were wearers of high SPF sun blockers that are a part of many ladies daily cosmetic routine because of skin cancer warnings and, here in the northern half of the northern hemisphere, the women who wear layers of clothing. The clothing referred to here is not hijab but mandatory protection against the cold for large parts of the year that in turn ends up blocking the sun’s rays from producing vitamin D.
Because i am a product of my culture, I do not understand why women must be invisible, I do not understand why women must be banned from a public life.
So, stone me already for throwing a little sunlight on troubling cultural sexism. And, where is openness to diversity and cultural variables in that situation?