Quote:
Originally Posted by Shasown
Would you care to show me what parts of the post you quoted came from wikipedia?
Why have you brought Salman Rushdie into the debate?
As for the sexual discrimination of women that a lot of outsiders see occuring in Islam, yes it is there, and it will continue for a long time.
Think on this if you can, the sects that insist on the woman being wrapped up so no one other than family can see her, wont change their rules just because the law in the UK says she cant wear what they consider to be decent clothing.
So what will happen?
The males of the household may be rich and willing to pay the fines indefinately. Then again they may not, but the most probable outcome especially in the poorer families is the wife is confined to the house pretty much for life.
So yeah carry on telling us how you despise the burka, how you want it not to be worn. But have a thought for what the end result could be for some of the women and girls.
Or you create enclaves of, for example, Safali muslims who then end up feeling marginalised by UK society, breeds resentment, blah blah blah, terrorist recruitment etc. blah blah blah.
Education and encouragement are better than legislation and criminalisation.
|
My wikipedia reference was to highlight the fact that not everything posted by some people is based on opinions arrived at through personal experience and knowledge, but from merely reading about something and then regurgitating it as an opinion.
I cannot help but have the opinions I have on muslims and the women in particular, from the simple fact that for some years I was subjected to the sort of treatment they have to put up with, but without the benefit of having first being brainwashed to be able to accept it.
I brought Salman Rushdie (a muslim) into the debate because a Fatwah was issued against him when he published The Satanic Verses because of his disrespectful portrayal of Mohammed - and I was just pointing him out as an example of a muslim "infidel" who had a death warrant against him. He had to go into hiding for many years to avoid being executed by fanatics.
There's no gain without pain - women in the West fought long and hard to get the right to vote, the right to the same education that boys enjoyed, the right to the same wages as a man for doing the same job, to be able to own property without having a male guarantor, to become doctors, lawyers etc, etc. If Muslim women are ever to be set free of course it is not going to be a smooth ride - they are going to have to cover ground that western women had to cover a century or so ago, and it has taken us decades to achieve the freedoms and rights we now have. It won't happen overnight for muslim women, and it won't be straightforward or easy.
Encouraging the perpetuation of sex discrimination in faith schools, however, is NOT the answer. All that will happen, IMO, is that instead of living in a cohesive society where men and women have equal rights, we will have a divided society where muslim women are still living in the dark ages alongside their liberated counterparts. There has to be some common sense applied, and banning the burkha - a visual and blatant sign of female subjugation - is a first step. many Muslim women in their own countries are fighting for equality, but in their male dominated hierarchies they are making little headway and often face harsh punishments for daring to rebel. We should be helping muslim women in this country to fight for their freedom from oppression, not encouraging muslim men to keep them in metaphorical chains.
The burkha is NOT a religious requirement, NOR is it a major cultural one. Apart from the obvious connotations of female suppression, it is a fact that it is a major threat to safety and security in a society whose citizens are routinely closely monitored, observed, recorded and identified, and there should be NO exceptions.