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| Britain | |
| Burqa empowers women, says British minister | |
| 2010-07-20 | |
 As debate intensifies across Europe on banning the veil, a minister has defended a Muslim woman's right to wear the burqa and says it is empowering.Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said on Monday that women were "empowered" by the freedom to wear the face coverings.
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| Posted by:Fred |
| #16 next time you see a woman in a bag, give her a wink, blow her a kiss, and proclaim 'sexy eyes' lol |
| Posted by: Bacon in the Mosque horror 2010-07-20 19:06 |
| #15 Well, let's just clear up this little problem, after all this is RantBurg...... Any of yawl have to sit down after seeing a babe in a Burka? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2010-07-20 18:30 |
| #14 Define "empower", please. I don't think the word means what you think it means. |
| Posted by: mojo 2010-07-20 18:10 |
| #13 I was forced into watching that music channel and they had a "young people buck the system" show on, three youngsters in Saudi Arabia. One was a gal who decided to start a business which sold women's clothing in colors other than black. In a way, its empowering the women by giving them a choice in fabric color/design. About a week after watching the program I heard she had been arrested, along with the other 2. Empowering, huh. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2010-07-20 17:47 |
| #12 I think I understand much better as a result of actually visiting why a lot of Muslim women want to wear the burqa," she said. Yeah - as others have said here, they wear the burqua because they don't want to be beaten, have acid thrown in their face, or be killed. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2010-07-20 17:44 |
| #11 "says it is empowering" It also leads to serious vitamin D deficiency. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-07-20 17:16 |
| #10 67% of voters say no burka. That's hard to argue against. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2010-07-20 12:20 |
| #9 Not wearing a veil can get you acid in the face in many places. Of course many volunteer to wear the veil given the choice. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2010-07-20 11:58 |
| #8 Women feel empowered by the burqa in Afghanistan because in many parts of the country leaving the house without one is a death sentence. Thus, the burqa functions to allow a woman to walk in the streets, should her lord and master husband permit it. There should be no similar need in Britain. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-07-20 11:50 |
| #7 if Spelman thinks the burqa is so empowering, she should experience the empowerment first hand. Insist spelman wear a burqa for just 3 months. She may not leave the home without wearing it, lest she be beaten by her male relatives. Let her understand that choice is between harm and haram. Let her feel empowered by no longer having to drive herself places. Driving is also haram for the burqa crowd. Burqas babes, often as not, are forbidden from leaving the house without a male escort. Any male - a two year-old will suffice. Let her feel empowered by the beating she gets when she dares to reveal herself to any male or leaves the house without her burqa. Let her feel empowered by the sense of detachment, the difficulty of movement, the restriction of vision. let her embrace the empowerment of losing a full communication with others through the lack of facial expression. let no-one see her smile or her tears. In the third month, let her forget to don her burqa for a quick trip to the store for milk - let her call it her choice. And have her face the same violent reaction - and possibly death - for "shaming" her family by appearing unveiled in public. just 3 months, Caroline. let's see how "empowered by the burqa" you feel then. Understand that it is not a 'freedom' nor a 'choice' to live hidden under a burqa. It's wear-it-or-die. Burqa babes will say it is their choice to wear such a garment because to say anything else invites gross physical harm. |
| Posted by: Swanimote 2010-07-20 11:41 |
| #6 True empowerment is the freedom to do or not do whatever you want as long as no one else is harmed. A very unpopular outlook these days... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2010-07-20 10:52 |
| #5 No wonder 1984 was written in the UK, Orwell had many subjects to inspire him. |
| Posted by: HammerHead 2010-07-20 09:06 |
| #4 And here I thought Labour was out of power. |
| Posted by: Spot 2010-07-20 08:06 |
| #3 A "tolerant and mutually respectful society" where burkas are empowering, but piggy banks, pork pies, Christmas trees and decorations of red and green, church bells, guide dogs, alcohol hand gels, non-halal meals, Union Flag lapel badges, St George flags and crucifixes are "culturally insensitive" and not "inclusive", and cause "hurt feelings" to those who are empowered by wearing burkas and blowing up Tube trains. |
| Posted by: Mullah Lodabullah 2010-07-20 06:13 |
| #2 barf. It is obvious that this minister is not representing British women and gets her support from those who oppress women! The reason that people don't like the veil is that it is a symbol of oppression for millions. Sure, some wear it willingly, but many have no choice. Come on girls (and boys) unseat her and make the point that oppression is not chic. |
| Posted by: Betty Jerenter8589 2010-07-20 05:57 |
| #1 You have to be joking me. If she feels women are so empowered under sharia islam, send her on a six month sabbatical to mecca, at the tax payers expense. Alla mucktash |
| Posted by: Phurt Grundy 2010-07-20 04:57 |