fashionista or feminist icon?
There’s a huge debate at the moment about whether or not governments should be banning the burka from being worn in public. France has already passed the bill to make it illegal and other countries may follow suit.
I must admit I’m not a big fan of burkas. I’m certainly not convinced by the argument about them being required as part of the need for ‘modest dressing’ . To cover the entire face seems unnatural to me. Humans need to communicate with each other and to do that we need to see the whole face. I also find it unfair to women that when I see them in the street wearing a burka, they are often accompanied by men in full Western garb – t-shirt, jeans etc.
There’s a whiff of hypocrisy on the women’s part, too – check out the amount of eye make-up the women wear beneath the veil and observe their footwear; painted toenails, ankle bracelets, the hem of trendy jeans – come on! I think that for some young women, the burka has become a fashion symbol worn as an act of rebellion. It’s saying ‘Don’t tell me what to wear!’ I’m all for that but I just think that the burka sends out all the wrong signals all the same. It says that women’s bodies are so provocative they must be hidden or the men won’t be accountable for their actions. Isn’t there a danger that radicalized Muslim males see girls and women who choose not to wear the burka as indecent or even tarty?
Having said all that I wouldn’t ban the burka. That’s too extreme, won’t help anybody and will be quite rightly seen as an anti-Islamic act.
If going down the banning of clothing road can we also consider:
- the ghastly trend for women/girls to show every bit of their bras beneath thin, strappy tops.
- the even more ghastly trend for women and girls to show their boobs beneath said bras. Enough already! Put them away!
- thongs (not as popular now but – urgh!)
- lads with their bums hanging out of the back of their jeans. It’s not cool. I do not want to know what brand of underpants you’re wearing, mate.
- suggestive t shirts aimed at little girls with slogans such as ‘so many boys, so little time’
- little girls in heels, make up etc.
This rant was brought to you today by Helena Pielichaty wearing navy leggings, a blue linen shirt and purple pumps. Thank you.