Wearing of Burka

[amateur51]

I think that was basically Stalin's response to the burqa when he had to deal with this issue in the southern provinces of the Soviet Union - he didn't like it but hoped that with better education it would eventually fade away.

This Stalin sounds a remarkably reasonable sort of chap

[zoomy]

I doubt there'd be much support for a KKK Grand Vizier (or whatever they call themselves) to wear the hooded robes in court.

Not enough KKK members have ended up in court, hooded or not.

[Pabmusic]

Apologies for my typos in message above.

All religions and especially the middle eastern religions - Islam, Judasim, Christianity, restrict women (what they wear, their behaviour, their sex lives etc). Those restrictions have, over the centuries transposed themselves into our general culture.

Yes, and I'd go further in saying that the three Abrahamic religions are profoundly misogynistic anyway.

[Pabmusic]

Not enough KKK members have ended up in court, hooded or not.

That's unhappily very true.

[jean]

It's a rather dodgy analogy, I'm afraid...

I'm not so sure.

There are not a few Muslim women who will assure you that their decision to veil is entirely their own choice, and nothing to do with what their menfolk expect of them.

And there are Western women who will tell you much the same about the crippling shoes they choose to wear.

I don't entirely believe either of them.

[zoomy]

Hear, hear Jean.

I think only secularisation and education can deal with it in the long run which is one of the reasons I am disturbed by Gove's education policy and the long running religious schools in this country - education should be completely secularised.

[Anna]

I'm not so sure.
There are not a few Muslim women who will assure you that their decision to veil is entirely their own choice, and nothing to do with what their menfolk expect of them.
And there are Western women who will tell you much the same about the crippling shoes they choose to wear.
I don't entirely believe either of them.

Me neither jean! (Particularly re the killer heels)

[scottycelt]

I'm not so sure.

There are not a few Muslim women who will assure you that their decision to veil is entirely their own choice, and nothing to do with what their menfolk expect of them.

And there are Western women who will tell you much the same about the crippling shoes they choose to wear.

I don't entirely believe either of them.

Why some women dress the way they do is probably a huge mystery to most men.

An old male friend of mine (with apparently no little experience and knowledge of the subject) always used to insist that women dressed simply to impress other women and not men. I think this may well be true in many cases especially when you observe a group of ladies excitedly discussing their respective clothing and not at all interested in the opinions of any males present.

However that does not explain the more revealing clothing worn by some women in the company of men, which presumably is not aimed at impressing other women (at least not in the overwhelming majority of cases.)

I remain completely baffled.

[amateur51]

I'm not so sure.

There are not a few Muslim women who will assure you that their decision to veil is entirely their own choice, and nothing to do with what their menfolk expect of them.

And there are Western women who will tell you much the same about the crippling shoes they choose to wear.

I don't entirely believe either of them.

In the area of Female Genital Mutilation, it is men who insist on the measure but often (usually?) women who implement it, often creating their own pressure on young women to conform.

Doesn't make it right however - no cultural relativism here - FGM is wrong.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

...which is one of the reasons I am disturbed by Gove's education policy .

Do you think the nutty has a policy?

[eighthobstruction]

Me neither jean! (Particularly re the killer heels)

....I never forced or cajoled/nagged my ex into cooking me Victoria Sponges.... ....and I never got any.....

[Richard Barrett]

I remain completely baffled.

Pleonasm of the day.

[zoomy]

Do you think the nutty has a policy?

ha, ha unfortunately I think he has a badly thought out one in this area.

[eighthobstruction]

Do you think the nutty has a policy?

What he has is personal ideology....idiosyncratic intentions.....

[scottycelt]

Pleonasm of the day.

Wondered which of the usual suspects might be silly/naive enough to fall headlong into it ... :laugh: