the beautifully naked faces of france

three cheers for france sticking it to hijab!

women in burqa

no, they’re not throwing faiza silmi out of the country. she can stay. she just can’t become a citizen (kids or no kids, husband or no husband) because she has taken niqab, and that is not in alignment with their values. good for them. silmi is shocked, says that she “would never have imagined they would turn me down because of what i choose to wear.”

they didn’t. they turned you down because of what you choose to represent, the concept that a woman’s body is little more than manbait and must be covered to the utmost lest salacious, unscrupulous males become inflamed by a glimpse of cheekbone and fall upon you, devouring and despoiling. and we all know how much a despoiled woman is worth these days, don’t we? (especially amongst the faithful of islam, where stoning an unmarried teenager to death is considered an appropriate response if she is found guilty of the crime of having sex.)

the practice is not only insulting (and socially crippling, in western terms) to women, it’s just as much of a slap in the face to men, who are presumed to be little more than slavering sex fiends who can’t be trusted not to lust after, if not outright ravage, any woman showing more than three or four square inches of flesh.

is this an example of a government interference with free religious expression? you bet, and it’s a good one — along with all those other freedoms that governments tend to interfere with, like blood sacrifice. while many moslem groups worldwide praised france for this decision, m’hammed henniche of the french union of muslim associations said, “Religion, so far as it is personal, should be kept out of these decisions.” i agree with you, m’hammed, except that it isn’t “personal” to go out in the streets wearing a straitjacket (as fadela amara characterized it). that’s called advertising, and i’m glad france isn’t having any of it. i wish my country had that kind of balls.

freedom of religion is highly overrated in the united states, where nonprofit tax shelters benefit svengalis from the sun myung moon to jimmy swaggart, where the religious agenda of moronic right-wing christians in backward states forces some schools to teach the “science” of creationism alongside evolution and where rabid anti-choice hate-baiters who wouldn’t adopt an unwanted baby if jesus h. christ himself delivered it to their door shut down medical clinics and successfully block the legal sale of contraceptives at many pharmacies.

it’s enough to make you lose your lunch:

Recent Posts:

• don’t drink the water — it’s spoiled
• XXX-rated santa
• wond’ring aloud
• On Gaza [a guest post]
• An Open Letter to Melissa Etheridge [a guest post]

bookmark to: