An Ode to the Burqa (when in Rome)....

Shakespeare had a tragic hero and Juliet to deal with.

James Joyce had Leopold Bloom and the Odyssey to worry about.

Defoe had Crusoe and his man Friday to keep busy.

Keat's had seasons and birds.

There have been odes to nightingales', sex, hate, the human mind, lesbians, everything. Or so we thought. What about the Burqa? No, unfortunately it is the lost tragic character in our modern age book of life.

I can't believe I never wrote about it before. But then again, we didn't have to deal with a ban on it before now did we? No, not even during the crusades.

It's official people. The crown of thorns has come out. The Burqa has been banned in France and Belgium.

Before I start my overbearing almost tyrannical take on this ban, let's get our facts straight shall we? France and Belgium are countries where only a small fraction of Muslim women wear the burqa. When I say small I mean a couple of thousands in France and about 30 in Belgium. Fractional if almost non existent. So it shouldn't really matter then should it? But it does.

Why? Let me tell you why.

It's been almost a decade since the tragic 9/11, but the on-going anti-Islam movement is just getting stronger with reactive legislation like this ban. People shouldn't be reacting, they should be responding.

Is having a women remove her burqa going to make you feel any safer? Well I guess we will find out right?

Now let's pretend that banning the burqa is going to solve everything or at least start with regards to terrorism. Let's also for a moment listen to all the feminists out there who think that wearing a Burqa is anti- woman and a sign of oppression. Let's also believe that EVERY SINGLE WOMAN who wears a Burqa is FORCED into wearing one. Then what do you do if some poor ol gal actually is caught wearing a Burqa? You fine her 150 euros of course. Okay, but then your practically fining a slave or oppressed person for being oppressed. That's the way you do it. Punish someone for being the "victim".

This brings me to my point, when in Rome do as the Romans do. For all those smart alecs who argue that Saudi and predominantly Muslim countries don't respect other cultures, I agree. You are right. Women can't walk down Mecca wearing a bikini. The girls of Sex and The City cannot flash condoms around and grope men in public. That's because these countries are Islamic states and those are the very tenants of Islam. Fine. that's understood. Now why then do you want to go and compare democratic and otherwise secular countries with the likes of Saudi? What's the competition. They tell you now to wear a bikini so you tell them not to cover up. Very smart.

With all this talk about Democracy, secularism and ban in the same sentence, I can't help but be reminded of Orwell's masterpiece, and my favorite book '1984'. It wasn't too long ago that the very thought of being told what not to wear would start a riot. It's a matter of time before we are told what to wear.

Personally I don't wear a burqa, hijab or niqab anymore, but I did wear a Hijab for an entire year when I was 13. Dumbfounded? Don't know what 2 of those three words are? It's okay. You are not the only one. I might not practice wearing the garments, but I do recognize the difference between the three.

The Hijab is the scarf that covers your head and neck, but your face is still shown.

The Niqab is the entire outfit which covers you from head to toe including your face, with only your eyes showing.

The Burqa -is the long head covering that covers your entire body, but not necessarily your face.

So I am assuming these French people have banned the niqab, since they feel threatened by not being able to see a womans face. What surprises me is that this whole debate says more about the people opposing the niqab than those who wear it, like me. Prejudiced, unknowing bigots.

My argument is always going to be freedom of will and equality. By banning the burqa you are banning the religious conviction that some people have. And we all know how difficult it is to be convinced about anything anymore.

I am all for banning oppressive men, women, rapists, molesters, pedophiles. Should we get them next? Please. My point is pretty straight. When you pick one race and make its practices illegal, even when other races are permitted to do similar things without criticism, that is racism. I haven't heard of the Nun's habits being banned? Is it because there are more Christians in the country? I had to think of it that way. I hate to bring religion into my blog posts because I am supposed to be whining and not feeling so passionately about a thing that I don't even follow.

If you ask me, (which I am sure you are not, but I'll say it anyways) if the Burqa is such a security threat, learn to work around it. When reasonably requested, the Burqa should be lifted. That is a law. You want uniform in universities, schools and work places. Burqa wearing women should be told at time of registration that while in class, the burqa must be removed. That is a law. If you need security checks in airports, major hot spots, etc, ask the woman to reveal her face. That's a law. Think about this. A woman wearing a hijab is as accessible to a CCTV camera as one that is wearing a hat or slinky Dior silk scarf. And if the latter wraps a scarf a bit higher around her neck that probably makes her as anonymous as a woman in niqab.

I believe no body should be telling you to wear, I also believe no one should be told to not wear it. If we advocate that a woman should be able to wear mini skirts, pants or whatever she wants to wear, we should also advocate for the fact that she should be able to wear a hijab, niqab or burqa. But this doesnt mean some patriarchal chauvanistic man can tell her what to wear, this also means that he can't tell her what not to wear. Simple.

Coming back to the French. Do the French intelligence agencies really have nothing better to do with their time? No other threats to deal with, apart from 2,000 Muslim women with covered faces?

By wearing the Burqa, if these women are somehow a symbol of social division then so is the Sikh turban and the Orthodox Jewish wear. But no one is having a go at them, and I hope they don't either.

A womans assets are her own. If she wishes to flaunt them as freely as discounts at Big Bazaar she is more than welcome to. We live in a world where everything is sold almost pornographically. By seeing a woman cover up, and then telling her she can't, are we respecting her less? Yes we are.

I repeat myself again and again. Let there be beauty, liberation and freedom. If a woman wants to cover her boobs, she is no less or more than a woman who thinks talking with boobs is a way of life. I support both!

A burqa is not Islamically recommended. I am sure about that. I have grown up with the strictest Muslim grandmother in the world. Possibly. But she would never force anyone to wear it. Islam is a pure religion at the heart of it. Women are pure too. Stop complicating both. Don't involve both in over zealous chauvinistic and terrorist activities that are rocking this sorry world. And, for goodness sake, lets not reduce Religion and human beings to a dress code. That is as the French would say "très bête".

If anything needs to be done, it's getting rid of male domination. Encourage women, Burqa clad or not to do as they will and not as the testosterone overloaded bull next to her wants. Find a solution for Domestic Violence, abuse, harassment, not for ethnic dress code cleansing. Let the women be. All you men need to stop thrashing each other over cultural differences.

I'll never understand ultra conservative Islam, but I am pretty sure Sarkozy doesn't either. I say we oppose the racist right wing kind of politics which could give a flying duck about Muslim women's rights and I also say we ban the products of the Islamic right wing. Women should not be sacrificed to either!

Before I finish completely, I want to recount an incidence where I have been subjected to racial profiling with just my name. So my name is completely Muslim. I have a Hindu name too. I choose not to use it because my identity will not be hampered based on the whims and fancies of people who don't even know how to spell their name backwords. Once a boy who I will not name told me, in this very country, that "If you don't like it, then you can leave". Where will I go you motherchucker! This is happening across Europe, America and all the xenophobic areas. America, I can't belive I am saying this, seems a little more understanding. That's probably becuase the minorities are combining to become the majority. But anyways there is no excuse for saying :"When in Rome....otherwise go Home". Bollocks. You don't have to be the majority in a place for it to be your home. Common sense.

And then they like to call themselves educated...

What am I even talking about. I don't know. But yeah. Banning the Burqa is just the start. Should I start calling myself by my non-muslim name now? No. I say bring it on!