Freedom curtailed
Last week(05-26-2010) , a curious article entitled "Veiled threat?" grabbed my attention. It's writer, Mr. Ilahi Choudhury, talked in length about a woman's right to expose herself and ridiculed the former Secretary General of Amnesty International Ms. Irene Khan's opinion that a woman's constitutional right consist of covering or uncovering whichever parts of her body she wishes, even her face. Mr. Choudhury insists that a woman should keep her face exposed, regardless of whether she wants to or not, and applauded several European nations for prohibiting wearing of the veil, calling for such measures on a global scale.
It appears to me that Mr. Choudhury is under the impression that we are living in pre-medieval times where men can dictate how women should live. He forgets that in this age of advancement where women are striding with their male counterparts in every field, men cannot decide what women should wear. Neither can men stop women from wearing short skirts, nor can they force a woman to display parts of her body they wish to see.
Mr. Choudhury thinks women living in Europe are truly liberated. Perhaps he is unaware that in the early 1600, a number of European leaders gathered for a meeting in which they wanted to agree on whether women should be classified as animals or human beings, and until 1850, women were not permitted to speak inside churches. Today, these very European nations are passing laws one by one on what sort of clothes women can wear, on security grounds. Soon they may start making laws restricting women to wear only certain colour in the name of security or God knows what! Male chauvinism is spreading throughout the world like wildfire. Women should continue to fight for their freedom and equality.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments