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The Burqua: Who is being "protected" here?

The banning of the wearing of the burqua raises a myriad of issues. Who is seeking protection from whom? - or is it part of the Islamic phobia we have been witnessing post 9/11?

In a piece " Politicising women's bodies" on Eureka Street, Catherine Marshall writes:

"Women's bodies have long been the site of robust political battles. Abortion, prostitution, contraception, virginity, modesty, childbirth: for millennia, policy-makers the world over have sought to influence these issues one way or another in the hope of shaping a society that most resembles their vision of perfection.

Simultaneously, women's bodies have long been used as canvasses on which cultural, religious and political expectations can find expression: bound feet for Chinese women, corsets for Victorians, unshaven armpits for feminists, shaitels for orthodox Jews, uninterrupted ovulation for Catholics, burqas for Muslims, suspenders for strippers, habits for nuns, breast implants for anyone who thinks they might enhance their feminine appeal."

Read on, here, for at least one woman's take on the banning of the wearing of the burqua issue.

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