Comment 75116

By Undustrial (registered) - website | Posted March 09, 2012 at 00:30:40 in reply to Comment 75115

Given the way burqas have been treated in recent years, I'm very wary when it comes to western criticism. Laws which prohibit veiled women from voting, simplistic racial stereotypes and military occupations aren't measures which empower women. I wholeheartedly support the right of women to reject burqas, but I don't have a problem with them if that's what they choose. It's not my place to judge, or to tell them what they can't wear for "their own good".

It's so easy to condemn other cultures for these issues, but few dare say the same about our own society. Afghanistan was condemned for laws regarding "marital rape" only years after it was criminalized in many American states. "Honour killings" frequently make the news if the participants are from Central Asia, but few ask if our own epidemic of gendered violence serves the same patriarchal purposes. Women may not be allowed to walk the streets of Afghanistan freely and safely, but sadly, that's a daily (or nightly) reality for far too many here.

First let's put our own house in order.

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