Good!  

That's what I like Tiddly - a concise straight-to-the-point answer.

Crazy. Smacks of the Taliban, to me.

Apparently, about 30 women in Belgium will be affected.
I wonder whether they will be allowed to pull their scarves over their mouths during a particularly brisk winter's day.

Blizzie, (I have to ask, because it's you) was that a serious answer?

Bad idea.  It sets a precedent that it is acceptable to pass laws which will infringe on the normal person's freedom of speech or expression.  The head garments are an important part of the Islamic faith and if people have a problem with that then it is their ignorance that is at fault.  We need to educate people about faiths and beliefs, then things like this would never be an issue.  It is a sad day for freedom in Belgium and something I hope will never happen in our great Country.

I personally don't like the veil, but I don't know if an outright ban is the answer really... like spider said, it infringes on people's freedom of expression. I think they should be banned in jobs that require interacting with the public, such as teacher, post office worker, doctor's receptionist.. but for just popping to the shops?

Yes, I'm having a serious day today!

Personally, I hate the idea of covering your faces, for men, or for religion, but this could lead to a backlash and more women covering up and feeling they have to stand up against religious persecution.

I'd rather we stood up for women in countries who really are treated like chattel.

Okay, but I had to ask.

I watched The Most Dangerous Place in the World for Women yesterday about how women are treated in the Congo

Personally, I find burqas/veils a little unnerving - because I like to see people's faces and expressions when I interact with them. I agree with Saz that there are some occupations/times/places where it is not appropriate. I also think the veil should be removed for passport and other photo I.D.
However, a blanket ban may create as many difficulties as it solves.

I don`t know the detail but if it`s being done for security reasons, then I agree.

Bad idea. I can understand the reasoning of asking women going into security-sensitive areas (like banks, airports) to remove their veils. I'd also like it to be outlawed for driving, having almost been run over quite a few times by women whose face coverings affect their field of vision.

I don't like seeing women shrouded over from head to foot, just because sexist some imam (not the Quran) says they should. But I'd rather women have the choice to decide for themselves. Dictating about what they can or cannot wear, when they're doing no harm to anyone else, is just as oppressive.

thats why i dont like them you cant smile at someone at the bus stop or summat

Disguising oneself in women’s clothing such as the Burka or the Abaya remains one of the most successful ways that Al Qaeda cells freely move around in Islamic countries.
The above quote taken from a website, and apparently examples of disguised escapes are easy to find.
I know that on this forum we have to rely on words and cannot see each other.
But where we do have face-to-face communication I like to think it is exactly that.
If I am knowlingly denied sight of another's face, I not only feel deprived of the wonders of visual communication and the many facets, I also think it is rude.

I watched that a couple of weeks ago.
Disgusting and heartbreaking!

I think that's why I use smilies so often, to add expression to my words.

- banned in Belgium.

I think the arguments for and against a ban on the wearing of burqas are complex. The Quran does not enforce women to wear burqas but encourages them to be modest in their clothing  Wikipedia provides the following translation from the Quran.

The Quran has been translated as stating: "O Prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw their outergarments (jilbabs) close around themselves; that is better that they will be recognized and not annoyed. And God is ever Forgiving, Gentle.".

Another verse in the Quran is translated as: "And say to the faithful women to lower their gazes, and to guard their private parts, and not to display their beauty except what is apparent of it, and to extend their headcoverings (khimars) to cover their bosoms (jaybs), and not to display their beauty except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's fathers, or their sons, or their husband's sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their womenfolk, or what their right hands rule (slaves), or the followers from the men who do not feel sexual desire, or the small children to whom the nakedness of women is not apparent, and not to strike their feet (on the ground) so as to make known what they hide of their adornments. And turn in repentance to Allah together, O you the faithful, in order that you are successful"


So, although I can see where the concept of the burqa comes from, I don't see that it requires the part of the face below the eyes to be covered. It is that part of the burqa which many find disturbing. There is also the fact that the Taleban have a history of enforcing women to wear burqas, and that enforcement together with the Taleban history of preventing women from an education gives the sense that women are being treated as chattels.

So there is in my mind no satisfactory answer. On the one hand there is the fundamental right for all people to follow their beliefs and principles. On the other hand, I am against women being compelled to act against their choice because their husbands or leaders force them to.

Women, given enough freedom and support by society, eventually break free from such 'traditions'.

There are still some Christian churches in this country where women are expected to cover their heads, but most denominations have long forgotten such old fashioned practices.

It seems to me that more Muslim women in Western societies are embracing such traditions, as a reaction to anti-Muslim feeling. Certainly, I only remember seeing Saudi women in the full garb, when I was growing up.

I think the Quran specifies modest dress for both sexes, not just women.

If a woman wants to wear the burqua...then that's all well and good, but if she's forced into it by whoever, then banning it would be a good thing.
The full face veil should not be worn in security sensitive places as a matter of course, but what about public transport where terrorists can disguise themselves as women?
On balance...in a Western country,under a terrorist threat....ban 'em altogether

Its a hard choice as the burkha is worn to give muslim women freedon to go out without a husband or brother to accompany her, if it is banned then she will not be allowed to leave the house on her own or with other females....

I do find it hard to understand this.  What is the fear for a Muslim woman modestly dressed but without the face veil in a country like Belgium or even here?

Ignorance causes fear.

Thin end of the wedge.

Yay!   those two posts have saved me typing an essay trying to find the right words..... 

Spider & Joe... I agree !

Wearing the Burkah is essential for some Muslim women - its like asking us to walk naked. Its an afront to their culture and totally unecessary.
its so intolerant

It's a tough moral question...but I agree, it is the thin end of the wedge. Let's see how this progresses...

..... then they came for the Goths and I did nothing because I was  not a Goth etc......

Does it all remind you of that headmistress back in the sixties who made girls wear their skirts below the knee because they were too short then made them wear them higher because they were too long etc etc.