BAN THE BURQA

One cannot hide behind any reasoning, any logic whatsoever. The truth is staring in our face. That the practise of wearing burqa by islamic women is the assertion of the fact that a woman is the property of his man. And only his man , his husband has the right to see his face and body. The woman looses the right over his body. The burqa is symbolic of the fact that women are second-grade creatures, there to serve the existence of men. That a women is not free and is subject to the diktats of a male society.
Many would argue that if a woman has no problem in wearing a burqa how can the society or law direct her not to wear one. Burqa is also a form of religious symbolism. Religious symbolism serves the purpose of segregating members of that religion from the rest of the society. Its a provocative assertion of one's separate identity. Religious symbolism therefore divides the society. Therefore all forms of religious symbolism, including burqa , should be done away with.
The irony is that the customs once instituted by men to suppress women, to oppress the women's nature is later supported by women itself. Therefore we find so many voices from amongst the muslim women in support of the burqa. Wearing burqa has become an epidemic in Muslim society everywhere. To prevent it from turning into a pandemic, in the face of globalization, right vaccination has to be given. And that right vaccination is to ban the burqa.
Three cheers for Sarkozy for raising the issue. And three boos for the intellectuals, for the women who use specious reasoning for defending the burqa. You cannot get away by tweaking words and defeat the underlying cornerstone of the modern civilization that women are equal to men. And any custom, any practise that contradicts it , even if it is supported by women should be done away with.I would conclude with what Salman Rushdie once said about the burqa,"Its not a great thing to keep half the humanity wrapped in bags." So you women throw away your burqas and celebrate existence, celebrate your body. And look to men beyond your husbands.love ankur.