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serynToday's news has an article saying Syria is banning the full Muslim veil at universities. They call what is banned the niqab.
Apparently the Syrian government is concerned about the increase in one of the outward signs of conservative Islam.
Syria is not banning all head scarves at their universities, but Turkey does.
France has banned the burqa. Which is the full body covering with a similar facial coverage to the niqab or even moreso with the mesh over the eyes.
The grounds being used by European countries for the bans is that the wearing of these extreme veils is degrading to women. I agree with that perspective simply because the modesty requirements are inequitable between the genders.
I also agree that there has been a large push toward conservatism in religious requirements. I have seen it in my own life. Not in terms of the burqa/niqab, because those are rare enough here, but in terms of the number of women wearing dresses in public and on television. For now dress wearing remains a choice, but it hasn't been 50 years since girls were prohibited from wearing trousers in public schools in America. With the continued rise in conservative religious views, the wearing of dresses will return to a mandatory practice if we do not stop it. American women who are not Muslim are already voluntarily veiling themselves for modesty.
I have long been a very modest woman, I rarely wear sleeveless things, even for sleeping (which makes the shopping for summer-weight nightwear a real pain). I almost never go out in public with bare legs. But the women who wear dresses and veils for modesty make me want to buy a bikini and wear the skimpiest clothes I can find, just to protest. You will never, ever hear me say that a skirt is more modest than trousers though. Anything where there is a meter-wide access point or where falling will cause wardrobe malfunction is inherently less modest than trousers which specifically cover the legs. There is a theory that skirts obfuscate the shape of the legs, but I think the easy access routes under the skirt hem make skirts significantly less modest and less under the control of the wearer. Skirts make touching the legs easier. Trousers make looking easier. I think modesty should demand the clothing which restricts the touching since the only people who would invade your personal space directly have zero manners. Polite people will restrict the looking on their own.
Apparently the Syrian government is concerned about the increase in one of the outward signs of conservative Islam.
Syria is not banning all head scarves at their universities, but Turkey does.
France has banned the burqa. Which is the full body covering with a similar facial coverage to the niqab or even moreso with the mesh over the eyes.
The grounds being used by European countries for the bans is that the wearing of these extreme veils is degrading to women. I agree with that perspective simply because the modesty requirements are inequitable between the genders.
I also agree that there has been a large push toward conservatism in religious requirements. I have seen it in my own life. Not in terms of the burqa/niqab, because those are rare enough here, but in terms of the number of women wearing dresses in public and on television. For now dress wearing remains a choice, but it hasn't been 50 years since girls were prohibited from wearing trousers in public schools in America. With the continued rise in conservative religious views, the wearing of dresses will return to a mandatory practice if we do not stop it. American women who are not Muslim are already voluntarily veiling themselves for modesty.
I have long been a very modest woman, I rarely wear sleeveless things, even for sleeping (which makes the shopping for summer-weight nightwear a real pain). I almost never go out in public with bare legs. But the women who wear dresses and veils for modesty make me want to buy a bikini and wear the skimpiest clothes I can find, just to protest. You will never, ever hear me say that a skirt is more modest than trousers though. Anything where there is a meter-wide access point or where falling will cause wardrobe malfunction is inherently less modest than trousers which specifically cover the legs. There is a theory that skirts obfuscate the shape of the legs, but I think the easy access routes under the skirt hem make skirts significantly less modest and less under the control of the wearer. Skirts make touching the legs easier. Trousers make looking easier. I think modesty should demand the clothing which restricts the touching since the only people who would invade your personal space directly have zero manners. Polite people will restrict the looking on their own.
