If you dont like the bans, go to a muslim practising country.

The difficulty I think is that all religious and cultural practices have the same problems.

If a religion developed that insists people wear cowboy hats 100% of the time would you outlaw cowboy hats?

The most you can do is offer them the freedom to choose once they are grown, if in the Netherlands a grown woman’s husband cannot legally force her to wear it or beat her for not doing so that is enough, if he doesn’t like it tough.

The alternative to target minority cultures based on popularity, and what is to keep this from being done to subcultures? It would become enforced cultural stagnation, is that desirable?

You don’t educate them to not wear it. You educate them and what they do after that is their decision. That’s all

I seriously can’t put what I think into words. This is my weakness… frustrating.

All I know is that forcing them to not wear it is wrong in so many ways. That is all I know.

This is where education come in.

Not necessarily. She is actually educated. She doesn’t associate the Burqa with Islam (much.) She can be very open minded – she travels, she respects and understands the beliefs of her Western friends, she doesn’t impose her views on anyone else. So what do you mean by education, if a woman is clearly educated yet makes that decision, or rather “submit’ to it?

The governments in Western countries better make use of their education and social networks to educate these women and then the men.

Well, some would say it’s not their responsibility, and rightly so. You’ll see a lot of immigrants going there with the same beliefs and it’s not the Western governments’ jobs to change those beliefs in order to make them more applicable in their societies, so these women end up sticking out like a sore thumb. The responsibility lies within these women’s hands – do they introduce their views in this new environment, threatening the already existing values and cultural norms, do they adapt to this environment, or are they really oppressed and are doing this merely to have their mens’ approval? The latter is what worries most people, in my opinion. People just can’t comprehend how anything like this could ever result from an independent choice.

Banning these in an Islamic country where women have next to no rights, and where men force it and women have no real alternative is a good idea.

At the same time it is not a good idea in a Western country where the women have an alternative. The governments in Western countries better make use of their education and social networks to educate these women and then the men.

Taking the situation in a black and white manner will doom us all. Make plans according to the society.

Enlightenment through understanding not oppression.

I think for many the Burqa is seen as a sign of oppression. People say that it’s mostly the men who enforce these dress codes upon the women, but I come from a society where it’s perfectly normal to see single women choosing to wear the Burqa. She doesn’t necessarily have to have a strict husband or father who force her to wear it, even though that is the case for many women.

It is not an easy thing to decide on – if you think about utalitarianism (the greater good for the greatest amount of people) then banning it might seem reasonable as many women are bothered by it, but then again many of them are accepting of it, which in turn gets perceived as a choice. For example, my aunt wears it all the time, and when I ask her why, she said “Khaled (her husband) makes me wear it, but I’ve come to get used to it and it’s not something that really bothers me anymore.” So despite her not liking it at first, she went through several phases and now she’s at “I like it,” making this a choice which she defends. But I always wonder how it feels like to walk around anonymously, this kind of strips people of who and what they are, I never saw the value of it. So I don’t know of many women who will personally choose that, especially these days where our societies are taking timid steps towards liberalism.

If you start thinking about liberty and personal freedoms, banning this might cause some issues and question the values of such a society. And that’s another reason why it’s an issue. You will definitely hear the “you can’t claim to be free and tolerant yet ban a woman’s right to wear whatever she wants.”

The real question is how do we know whether or not it’s a choice if women are beginning to wear this in Western societies where it’s not male-dominant? And is banning this a violation of their rights?

Marvelous idea… bravo.. bravo… I am in tears.

Wouldn’t it be better to give them an education and let them decide on their own?