Banning of Burqa - Good or bad?

[Gonzo]

I wonder if this is a clever bit of political psychological manipulation.

Does anyone have the figures for how many women actually wear the burqa in Belgium?

I lived in the east end of London, in Tower Hamlets, from the start of 2000 to the end of 2008. It is an area with a very large, in fact probably majority, Muslim population.

I can only remember ever seeing two pairs of women in all that time dressed like that. Is it really a big issue?

EDIT: OK, I see Mitch got there before me with the same sentiment but with more eloquent expression.

[VectraMan]

On the one hand, telling people what they can and cannot wear is an affront to the British view of freedom and I don't think people would stand for it.

So public nudity is completely legal in Britain? Who's that bloke that keeps getting arrested for choosing what he wants to wear in public?

[HairyArsedBloke]

Does anyone have the figures for how many women actually wear the burqa in Belgium?

I lived in the east end of London, in Tower Hamlets, from the start of 2000 to the end of 2008. It is an area with a very large, in fact probably majority, Muslim population.

I can only remember ever seeing two pairs of women in all that time dressed like that. Is it really a big issue?

I'm there right now. I see them - but not that often. It's is mainly the older women too. The youngsters are having none of it. I don't see it as much of a problem.

[cailin maith]

I suppose it depends on if they are being forced to wear it because of some opressive regime/religious thing or if they wear it because they have so much faith in their religion that they feel it's necessary.

I always wonder how the kids know (when I see a group of women in Burqa's) which one is their Mammy?

As regards banning it because of them concealing their identity. Again, I suppose in Muslim countries they are used to it... but in the west, with all the heightened security, I'd prefer if everyone was recognisable.

[cailin maith]

So public nudity is completely legal in Britain? Who's that bloke that keeps getting arrested for choosing what he wants to wear in public?

Gonzo

[Mich the Tester]

Does anyone have the figures for how many women actually wear the burqa in Belgium?

I lived in the east end of London, in Tower Hamlets, from the start of 2000 to the end of 2008. It is an area with a very large, in fact probably majority, Muslim population.

I can only remember ever seeing two pairs of women in all that time dressed like that. Is it really a big issue?

EDIT: OK, I see Mitch got there before me with the same sentiment but with more eloquent expression.

No it isn’t, but it’s an easy symbol for charlatans and tyrants to convince many provincial voters who never visit the cities that ‘Europe’s capital cities are being taken over by Islamic fundamentalists’. Here in Holland, Geert Wilders’ party gets most of its votes in areas where very few muslims live; obviously, he doesn’t get the muslim votes, but there’s something more interesting here; he manages to convince people who don’t come into daily contact with muslims that they are planning to take over the country. Those of us who go into capital cities every day should be able to see that it’s nonsense.

The polling evidence and evidence from recent local elections also shows that muslims in Holland mostly vote for centrist secular parties like PvdA and D66; the Christian Democrats also pick up some support from muslims. There have been attempts to get a muslim party into parliament, but none have attracted a significant proportion of the muslim vote. Muslims voting for centrist secular parties and Christian parties doesn’t sound to me like an Islamic plot to take over Europe, but try convincing unworldly yokels of that.

[Gonzo]

So public nudity is completely legal in Britain? Who's that bloke that keeps getting arrested for choosing what he wants to wear in public?

That is an affront to the British view of decency so I don't think that it supports the argument that it is acceptable to tell people what to wear.

[Churchill]

That is an affront to the British view of decency so I don't think that it supports the argument that it is acceptable to tell people what to wear.

So, we agree that people shouldn't be told what to wear. In that case, what are we going to do to/with people who tell others what to wear?

[Mich the Tester]

So, we agree that people shouldn't be told what to wear. In that case, what are we going to do to/with people who tell others what to wear?

Ah, now here’s a different but connected issue. Rumour has it that some muslim women are being forced by tyrannical husbands to wear a burqa against their will. You don’t solve that by banning burqas; that would just force those women to stay indoors with no contact with the outside world and therefore no opportunity to report to anyone else what is happening to them. Effectively, banning the burqa would imprison and incriminate the probably very small number of women being forced to wear it, and who are themselves the victims of a crime. It is far better to ensure that those women are able to find out about the ways they can be helped under the current laws.

[HairyArsedBloke]

Sorry, I can't help mysef.