Hilarie: Should burkha be banned from our streets as well?
Jun 27 2009 by Hilarie Stelfox
Arguments AGAINST it are legion:
l It causes vitamin D deficiency as there is no skin exposed to natural sunlight.
l It’s a health and safety risk in other ways as the woman has no peripheral vision and is effectively hobbled by the voluminous skirts.
l It is a security risk, as the case of the male terrorist suspect who used a burkha to escape detection proved so clearly.
l It alienates women and makes them targets for intolerance - often a double whammy as they’re only following a practice that may have been forced upon them.
l It prevents women from engaging with the community they live in and restricts access to education and employment.
l Last, but certainly not least, it is the ultimate form of female oppression by men.
British Muslim Saira Khan wore a burkha to film a television programme for the BBC and says it took away her personality and made her feel like a freak. She believes it’s time that our Government also debated a ban on the burkha and ordinary British Muslims spoke out against the practice.
She particularly condemns the fact that increasing numbers of young girls are being forced into burkhas to attend primary school. Saira suggests that those who want to wear the burkha go to live in a Taliban-controlled country where they might feel more at home.
Somehow I doubt that many will take up this suggestion.
