Spare me all this bleating or boasting in today's music
I laughed when I read your 'bleating or boasting' column - for years my
daughter and i have listened to pop music while in the car together and I've
always moaned to her about the 'whiney white boys' and the 'shoutey black
boys' - bleating and boasting respectively. Incidentally my favourite modern
bands are the White Stripes and the Kaiser Chiefs, for what it's worth. Jack
White is mad but a great singer.
Nora Bennett, Beaconsfield
Yep, the hijab does a wonderful job protecting women
It is wrong to condemn the hijab as misogynistic, just as it is wrong to
force all women to wear one. We all have our own standards of modesty and
sexuality, but what's the point if you're forced into one mould or another?
I think that Ms Burchill's point on domestic violence is particularly
noteworthy, as it's a helluva lot easier to hide that shiner your hubby gave
you the night before when you're already covered up with a hijab. In keeping
the women covered and chaperoned, Islamic men avoid the greater issue at
hand, which is how to handle the emotional turmoil of sexual attraction. As
Tom Robbins said in one of his books, what absolutely fiendish sexual
creatures the ancient women of the Middle East must have been to require the
hijab in order to allow men to get about their daily lives. As far as I'm
concerned, if you feel that your hair is a private beauty for only your
husband to behold, then more power to ya. However, other Muslim women
shouldn't be forced to do the same just to keep men from thinking dirty
thoughts. Perhaps it is the men who should be fitted with an apparatus to
prevent them getting over excited; that seems like a much healthier method
for protecting women from the insidious desires of the flesh.
Elyse Ribbons, Beijing, China
What a naïve analogy. If a woman chooses to support socially unacceptable
actions, this affects society, and we agree that she is wrong. I would like
to ask you what problems have the hijab wearing women caused you, or society
in general?
Moizuddin G. Mohammed, Glasgow
So, Ms Burchill, you think you've got it all sussed? The very feminist
arguments that you use against the hijab are exactly the ones argued FOR the
hijab. If it is a woman's right to choose, then surely the principle should
apply universally? I'm not making excuses for "Muslim"
countries - they have a long way to go before they apply Islam properly, but
I don't think the West has got it right either. Western women may well go
round proudly exhibiting their bits to everyone who cares to look, but that
doesn't mean they are happier or more fulfilled, but rather that they are
obsessed with primitive human sexual desires. Honour-killings are entirely a
cultural practice. Relating their incidence to Islam is as ludicrous as
suggesting that the high incidence of rape in the UK is because of
Christianity. Hijab is not the cause of social instability or female
unhappiness. If anything, many Muslim women find it liberating from
society's obsession with looks and lust, and is an expression of their
belief and confidence. I would challenge you to go to societies where women
wear the Hijab and see what they really think, instead of purporting to
speak on everyone's behalf. I know I am entirely happy with my choice.
Ghannam Hanadi, Birmingham
What a fantastic article. It is beyond my comprehension that any woman could
be coerced (brainwashed) into thinking that the natural state of face, arms,
and hair exposed is anything other than perfectly natural. The old chestnut
about jewels being kept hidden for fear of being stolen is fine for
inanimate objects, but is not a way for real people to live. The whole sorry
story of this cover up comes from a 7th century desert fear of women being
kidnapped by wandering nomads. It has no place in modern society. For me,
growing up in the sixties and watching the new freedoms and opportunities
for women being won, it is unbelievably sad that these naive women support
and perpetuate such a misogynistic piece of cloth.
Name and address withheld
The purpose of the hijab is two-fold. First, to protest the modesty of the
woman. The second, even more important, reason is to tell non-believers that
the woman is off-limits and should not be addressed, looked upon and visited
with by infidels. This is the way that hijab-wearers say "sod-off"
in a most polite way. The woman is likely to be corrupted if permitted to be
among the infidel. The lepers of olden time rang bells or clapped wood to
tell people to go away. The hijab is such a warning to infidels. It says:
Only true Believers may approach.
Name and address withheld
