REI 3350 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Visible Minority, Bikini Waxing, Burqa
Document Summary
March 19, 2015: the debate on veil http://www. macleans. ca/society/life/who-are-we-to-judge. No item of female apparel summons more attention, animosity, debate or censure in western society than the veil covering muslim women. Governments are racing to restrict the veil in its various declensions: hijab, chador, abaya, niqab, burka. France and belgium banned face-and-body concealing burkas and niqabs last year; similar legislation is in the works in other european countries, echoing campaigns to rid cityscapes of minarets. Muslim women were singled out by fifa, the world soccer body, which banned players from wearing islamic headdresses on the grounds they could cause a choking injury. Western women may be shackled by clothing and customs six-inch stilettos, brazilian waxing, cosmetic surgery, the imperative to be thin but that"s seen to be their choice, their self-expression within a culture that often con ates female empowerment with female sexuality.