Coming to America: Burqa Ban?

So the conversation on Niqabs and Burqas seem to be popping up all around me. Weather at work, at home, or on the Internet there are mixed feelings about France's Burqa/ Niqab ban.

Me in my Veil

As most of you who know, I wear a head covering in the style of the Hijab. My face show, but I cover myself pretty much from head to toe for religious/spiritual reasons.

When I started to do this I got some mixed reviews. Some thought it was wonderful and beautiful and admired me for doing something out of the norm, simply because I believed it was something my God wanted me to do.

Others, well.....Not so much.....Some people felt that my choice to cover myself was oppr
essive, thought I was ashamed of my body (Whether it was because I was ashamed of my body or because they thought my faith told me that a woman's body is "shameful") or just trying to seem Holier than thou.


The funny thing is, these were usually the same people who stood behind Muslim women who are always riled up whenever a news story talks about a woman told to she needed to change when her shorts were up her butt crack or told to go to a bathroom when she's breast feeding!

They'll say things like "A WOMAN'S BODY SHOULDN'T OFFEND YOU!" or "A WOMAN CAN CHOOSE HOW SHE WANTS TO DRESS!"

I agree with that statement. My personal belief is that a woman should have the right to wear whatever she wants. Wether it be a Burqa or a Bikini.

A Muslim Woman in a Burqa

I was having a conversation with some coworkers a couple of days ago and the Burqa ban popped up.

One of my coworkers, someone I  would consider a strong modern feminist, said that she said she always felt uneasy whenever she saw a woman wear a burqa/niqab. But when I told her I can't stand when I see some dude wit his pants hanging down his knees and I see his Sponge Bob boxers, she quickly said:

"That shouldn't offend you!"

I don't get it. Why in our society, are we so much more comfortable to seeing so much uncovered than we do covered.


Apparently there are some people who want the Burqa/ Niqab ban worldwide, including, the land of the free, America.

Here's some of the reasons why I think the Burqa/Niqab makes some of us uneasy:

A muslim woman in a Niqab

1. Women are forced to wear it!
Yes, it's true. In SOME countries, women are force to wear it. Whether it be from their government, their father's, or their husband's, some women have no choice but when ever they leave the house, they must cover their face. That IS disgraceful.

But in western society, the Burqa/ Niqab is something that the individual woman chooses. Most try to be talked out of doing it by their families (Including fathers, husbands, and clerics) and friends. But they feel Allah placed it on their heart. In Islam, if you haven't figured out already, teaches about modesty and a woman protecting her beauty. A western Muslim woman who covers her entire self, face included, does that but also she doesn't want to be judge by just her appearance. She wants to be judged on the good things she does and by her intelligence (Isn't that the message ALL western women have been preaching for centuries?). So she covers and preserves her beauty for someone who is willing to stand by her side for the rest of her life and never for sake her (IE, her husband). Muslim women are not the only ones called to be modest, Christian and Jewish women are to also. And in fact, the Burqa/ niqab has been around a lot longer than Islam has been around. It said that it originally started in the Early Christian church.


2. It's a security issue.
Okay, I understand that when it comes to identification proposes, seeing the face is important. For the airport, DMV's, Banks, etc.
Burqas and even some niqabs obstruct the view wen driving and that can be dangerous.
BUT that doesn't mean we have to get rid of it all together.

In fact, most women who do wear the face veil do remove it for identification purposes and driving.
For more On that, check out this video here:

3. It makes me so uneasy when I see it....


And THAT'S the one that grinds my gears.......I don't know if anyone told you this, but just because you don't like something does not mean you have the constitutional right to Ban it!

It bothers me when I see a Teenage girl wearing a mini skirt with her cheeks falling out, but I do not feel the need to make a law banning short skirts. I don't like it when someone wears an upside down Cross, but I don't go up to them and say "TAKE IT OFF!" Or go to my local politician and make anything that disrespects my faith illegal.

I don't ...You know why? Because I do not have the right NOT to be offended.

And why are so many women for this Ban?

Feminists shout from the roof tops that men don't have the right to tell a woman how to dress, but when you sign a petition to ban the veil, or you go to your MALE senator, That is EXACTLY what you're doing! You are dictating what a woman can and cannot wear.

As  libertarian and as a woman, I am AGAINST the veil ban in France and in England, and I hope to God that it never comes here to the US.

DON'T TREAD ON ANYONE!