A few thoughts:

You make a good argument about the value of supporting each other’s rights while hating each other’s choices (as you put it.) I’m still hesitant to fully buy into it, and I think context plays a big role. In a Canadian, or otherwise Western, majority non-Muslim context, I don’t think we’re in any danger of niqab being forced on us if we’re not vocal enough about our opposition to it; in contrast, people who wear niqab *are* in danger of being further alienated or marginalised by comments that continue to paint them as “barbarous,” especially when the whole discussion is coming out of the debate about whether the niqab should be banned.

That said, maybe I should have been clearer that I was talking specifically about comments being made usually by white, non-Muslim members of the dominant society, who have a certain level of power to define who does and does not fit into the definition of “us.” The conversation would probably change in a different cultural context (which includes certain Muslim spaces within Western non-Muslim countries.) My point here isn’t that we should censor ourselves, but that our words certainly have different amounts of power in different situations, and I think that that’s something we need to acknowledge and take responsibility for. I still think that overemphasising opposition to niqab in this context can often do more harm than good.

As for the “rhetorical turn to focus instead on domestic violence,” maybe I should have been clearer at the beginning of that paragraph (it’s an argument I’ve made before, which is probably why I was lazy in articulating it here), because I don’t actually think I’m doing what you’re saying I’m doing there. Basically, my point is NOT that people concerned about niqab should focus on other, supposedly “more important” issues – it’s that I’m not sure that the niqab, in and of itself, actually *is* the issue, and therefore, removing it won’t solve a whole lot. In situations where a woman is wearing niqab because of some form of coercion or oppression (whether that is because of violence or threats of violence within her family or community, or just overall social pressures that dictate that women’s faces need to be covered), then I would argue that the sexist/coercive situation is the main problem, and that the niqab is a symptom of it – removing the physical piece of fabric doesn’t remove the oppressive situation that led to someone wearing it it.

For people who want to maintain their focus on the oppression that they feel the niqab symbolises, that’s fine, I’m not saying they need to focus on literacy or whatever in place of it, but I also feel like the often-exclusive focus on the niqab as a piece of clothing is a little too narrow. Does that make sense? I feel like there’s a better way to articulate this, will comment again if I come up with something clearer…

I absolutely despise niqab. I would give every sister I could nasiha not to wear it. I don’t care what their intentions are: whether it is humbling intimacy with God to arrogantly showing up the sisters. Just as I assume they would despise the fact that I will *never* wear hijab outside of prayer (and sometimes not then) and give me nasiha to wear *at least* that. The point is that we support each other’s right to choose while we do not support each other’s choices. It is a crucial distinction to make. Without our right to hate each other’s choices while we support each other’s rights, we would be coerced into accepting religious norms we cannot.

That is the function of saying you hate the niqab and you would fight for your sisters’ right to wear it. Without that, I’d have to join the other side to ban it.

P.S. Your rhetorical turn to focus instead on domestic violence (i.e., the niqab is not important for us to focus on) is exactly that used by patronizing patriarchs (whether they be male or female) to tell feminists that there are other more crucial matters to consider so as to diminish our concerns: For instance, female religious authority is not that important, really shouldn’t we be focused on literacy? This is not a point related at all related to this blog, but I am surprised to see you using it.

The movement should be, not to protect veiling as a free choice, but to end veiling by force of law or custom, everywhere.

It shows how wrong the priorities are, that this is the question: veiling as free choice.

End forced veiling, then re-visit the issue.

Krista, your last paragraph is brilliant. Banning niqab will do nothing to stop female oppression, in fact one could argue such a ban only oppresses women further.