The right to wear a burqa

Letter April 16, 2011
I differ with the writer in that a burqa is a prison where the women are in and the men out.

GERMANY/ NIDDERAU: This is with reference to Meera Ghani’s article of April 15 titled “The right to wear burqa”. I differ with the writer in that a burqa is a prison where the women are in and the men out. What we need to do is free the women. And in that regard, criticising France is not right. I often visit South Africa where I see women wear revealing clothes or bikinis and I also see men with long beards and women in burqas and chaddars.  But in most Muslim countries, women have no choice and are forced to adhere to dress codes which are designed keeping in mind only one particular religious outlook or interpretation.

It appears ironic that this freedom of choice for women, to dress as they wish, disappears the minute they enter a Muslim country. It seems hypocritical that while Muslims talk about their rights as minorities in western countries , the same freedoms are not given to minorities in Muslim-majority countries.

We need to understand why millions of Muslims live in countries like France – surely there must be something good in such societies.

Sharif Lone



Published in The Express Tribune, April 16th, 2011.