The optimism in my last post, at least for Switzerland, has been tempered with news coming out of Switzerland last week.In Switzerland (where niqab is already banned in Ticino since 2013), the German-speaking newspaper SonntagsBlick recently cited a survey saying that 62% of the Swiss population would be in favor of a burqa ban. Granted, the Tribune de Geneve mentioned that the methodology of the SonntagsBlick survery was not made clear. But as usual, Muslim women and their clothing are the … [Read more...]
Search Results for: burqa
Marilyn Monroe in a Burqa: Commentary or Cliché?
April 2, 2014 by
Walking home recently, I rounded the corner from my apartment and noticed a poster that was banal and startling at the same time. I had previously written about the (mis)use of images of Muslim-looking women by Dutch non-profit organisations as an attention-grabbing device, which may or may not be related to the actual work being promoted. Here was another prime example: a film festival poster showing a pair of female legs and high heels peeking out under a blue burqa, blown about above a vent à … [Read more...]
Open Letter to Daphne Bramham on Women’s Soccer… and Burqas
November 28, 2013 by
I recently penned a letter to a Canadian journalist whose article was sent to me by a friend. For the most part, it was a fantastic piece commenting on the funding inequalities of women in sports - particularly soccer. As a player, coach and supporter of women’s soccer. I was pleased to read it. Until the last paragraph of this intelligent, well researched articles plunged into a racist, Islamophobic, ridiculous abyss lined with veils. I responded on Twitter, addressing the author directly. Da … [Read more...]
Effective Discussions on the Oppression of Women: Is the Burqa It?
November 20, 2013 by
For a few years now, I have been observing depictions of the veil, the niqab and the burqa, not only in the media but in pop culture. Muslimah Media Watch has written extensively about these depictions because they are so prevalent everywhere. Just last week, Nicole wrote about a controversial ad featuring a niqabi woman and a soldier. Similarly, as I have discussed in another post, niqabs and hijabs have made it to stardom through famous people like Lady Gaga and Madonna. We also see a tendency … [Read more...]
Pink Burqas, Gagas and Madonnas
August 21, 2013 by
It gets me every time... it makes me upset and irrationally angry. The stereotyping, the orientalist exoticism and the appropriation are only some of the things that go on when niqab, hijabs and “Muslim clothing” in general is used for profit by non-Muslim Western stars.Today M.I.A., who was once described by Time Magazine as wearing “one of the most controversial garments of our era” while wearing a niqab, is no longer “unique.” In early July, Madonna published pictures of herself wearing a … [Read more...]
Zero Dark Thirty: A Tale of Bias and Burqas
February 22, 2013 by
This post was written by guest contributor Emaan Majed.The scene opens on a bustling Peshawar market. The street vendors peddle ripe oranges and bananas. Decorated rickshaws bustle through busy streets as Maya, the determined female protagonist of Zero Dark Thirty, makes her way to her destination. But in contrast to actual Peshawar markets, the only Muslim women on the movie screen are two briefly seen, unnamed extras wearing sky blue Afghan chadris.The central narrative of Zero Dark … [Read more...]
When Laïcité Goes Wrong, or When Burqa Checks Start Getting Real
August 23, 2012 by
Since the anti-burqa law (or whatever you want to call it, I can’t anymore) was passed in France, women with “full cover” can be cited for non-compliance, and can be stopped for identity checks. We all remember the story of the polygamous butcher and his many niqab-clad wives gleefully committing welfare fraud. One of his wives was stopped while driving, and it was argued that she was pulled over, not for a traditional traffic offense, but because she was driving with a niqab on (which is why s … [Read more...]
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