(a response to the previous post here)
Interestingly I somewhat agree with a ban on veils in schools and any other places in which there is a “dress code” or uniform to be worn.
Using schools as an initial example, there are a multitude of reasons behind saying “no” to a veil (not the least the fact most Islamic organisations agree with a ban).
IMHO the reason for being in School is to learn from your teachers and interact with your peers. This is pretty much the only reasons I can think of to “waste” 10 years of your life which could be much better spent cleaning chimneys.
By its very nature, the Islamic veil prohibits this interaction and creates a barrier between the teacher and student, as well as between students. Teaching is interactive and relies heavily on student participation. As humans we rely heavily on body language (including facial reactions) to judge how the person we are talking to is responding to what we say. When you speak to some one who is veiled this is gone.
At school, in the UK, “we” are trying to instil in the pupils a willingness to learn and understand other cultures. Being veiled, while “showing a different culture” is a pretty blatant statement that the person is removed from the interaction. How are other school kids supposed to learn to talk and interact with what is effectively a talking, black, postbox? The argument that this exposure will teach kids about the different cultures is weak and it is very one sided.
The last point I am going to make for now is the nature of uniforms. The idea and concept behind school uniforms may be up for debate (and if so, is a new debate entirely) but where they are in place what on Earth is the justification for the veil?
There is no Koranic obligation for the veil and it is a fairly modern invention. I cant help but feel the children who are “demanding their human rights” are being used as pawns by others who seek to cause trouble and spread discord – both Islamic and non-Islamic.
This is not a “civil rights” issue any more than objecting to having to wear clothes in public is… The people are not being told they can not follow their religion of choice…
If a school is considering allowing veils, they should also consider allowing balaclavas to be worn by those that want to wear them.
Of course I agree with most of this. I even agree on the balaclavas. (I can’t see why everyone shouldn’t hide behind walls of their own choosing. The difficulty falls on them.) It is absured to think of girls in veils doing PE and chemistry and drama. I most definitely think that the veil is NOT a good thing.
My points were really:-
Making an issue of it is contributing to making our society even more divisive.
What teenagers wear is really only interesting to them. Making conflict over it just makes more teenagers want to join in.
Any teenager that chooses to hide under a tent has probably got some serious identity conflicts, which are partly going to be facing daily racism in the outside world and sexism in their religion, as well as standard teenage things like feeling hyperconscious of their appearance. And loads of stuff like that.
Making an issue of it is just unlikely to help make things better.
I have come across too many people who get really irate about it and go off on some horrible half-disguised racist rants as soon as the issue comes up.
I think the other thing is, even if some girls are being forced into wearing the tentcoverings, if they can’t do this at state schools – they are even more likely to end up in religious schools and then they’ll really be in trouble.
All good comments, although the last one is heading down the slippery slope fallacy 🙂 The issue of the “right” and “wrong” of wearing a non-Uniform item in a state school (especially one which has a school uniform) should really stand on their own. The potential risk of forcing girls into religious schools is a different matter.
If state schools take all the steps necessary to stop children going to religious schools will there be any difference between the two?