saramalkani

In the ongoing controversy about the proposed burqa ban in France, the voice of one group of people is strangely obscured. Muslim women who do not wear the burqa or the headscarf do not feature prominently in this debate. We do hear a great deal about the importance of preserving the choice of Muslim women who want to wear the burqa. But in any community, the choices of some people impact the lives of others. The presence or absence of the choice to wear a religious garment that is meant exclusively for the female members of a religious group affects gender relations and gender hierarchy in the community as a whole.
I am a Muslim woman and I do not wear the burqa or the headscarf. The constant reference in liberal media to those women who choose to wear it has made it increasingly difficult for the countless Muslim women, such as myself, to express our discomfort with it. This is because any outright criticism of the garment comes across as an intolerant attack on the religion of Islam as well as the Muslim women wearing it.
The reality is that many women have reason to dislike the burqa even when they do not harbor any Islamophobic sentiments. The fact is that the burqa is often imposed on women by hardline states or religious groups. The Saudi Arabian government forces women to wear the burqa in all public places. It also prohibits women ...