An armed robbery allegedly carried out by a man wearing a burka has sparked a row in Australia on whether the full-face Islamic veil should be banned. Several European countries have also debated banning the veil, notably France and more recently, Belgium.
Source: BBC News
As this debate escalates, I have to wonder if anyone has noticed that a Muslim woman wearing a veil is not so different in appearance to a nun habit? A full burka may hide a little more but apart from covering the face a nun's habit is essentially the same garment. I can remember the first time I saw women wearing full burkas and finding it a little confronting. We are supposed to be a tolerant and accepting society and feeling like this soon pass. If the current bans are based on security concerns; terrorists may wear burkas but why could they not just as easily dress as nuns to the same effect? I can't remember hearing anyone calling for bans on the wearing of nun's habits. By the same token; brides also wear veils; perhaps bridal veils should also be banned?
I also have to wonder whether Sarkosy is aware of the irony of a ban on women covering up too much when his own wife, Carla Bruni has been guilty on several occasions of not covering up enough.
Isn't there enough ill feeling between East and West already? Security may give authorities excuses to restrict a great many things but can't we at least retain the freedom to decide what we wear?
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