A Saudi Arabian cleric raised eyebrows over his WTF suggestion on a TV program six months ago that baby girls should be covered head-to-toe in burqas to protect them from sexual assault. It is one thing to suggest, however ludicrously, that veiled women prevent men from being tempted to rape (because we know men are all rapists and must be thwarted at every turn, amirite?), though I obviously don’t agree with forcing or coercing women to wear the burqa. But the mere suggestion that little baby girls might be lascivious if they’re not completely covered? Now, that’s just disgusting. Sheikh Abdullah Daoud’s “burqas for babies” idea has been criticized by other Saudis, who say he is making the Islamic faith look bad. I’m inclined to agree! [Daily Mail UK]
Tag Archives: veil
TV Station Staffed By Fully Veiled Women Launches In Egypt
- A new TV station called Maria recently debuted in Egypt which employs and is run by women who wear the face-covering niqab veil. Journalism students say they couldn’t find jobs in television, even ones where they would not appear on camera, because they are covered except for their eyes. Maria launched on July 20 and airs four hours a day on parent channel Al-Omma. So far it is all volunteer-run. [CNN]
- Companies with women on their boards outperformed similarly-sized companies by 26 percent, according to a study by Credit Suisse. [Think Progress]
- Artist Marina Abramovic is holding a women-only lecure at the Melton 2012 music festival in London, which will be entitled “The Spirt In Any Condition Does Not Burn.” Although she hasn’t explained what the lecture will be about or why it will be women-only, she has indicated it may be about exploring femininity. [Huffington Post] Keep reading »
Women On Afghan TV Told To Wear “Less Makeup, More Veil”
Your daily reminder that as screwed up as our government’s attempts to control women’s bodies is sometimes, it could be worse: female TV presenters in Afghanistan have been warned by the government to lay off the makeup and wear veils more frequently. The Information & Cultural Ministry asked TV networks to require women to wear a veil and forgo “dense makeup” in respect to “Islamic and Afghan values.” The ministry was reportedly pressured to make this advisement by a council of Islamic religious scholars. The continued policing and controlling of women’s bodies is just another example of how misogyny is still very much afoot in Afghanistan. [AFP]
France’s Ban On Face-Covering Muslim Veils Goes Into Effect
France‘s ban on face-covering Muslim veils, like the niqab and the burqa, took effect yesterday. French citizens and tourists alike will be fined $215 for covering their faces in public or they must attend a class on French citizenship. Anyone who forced a woman to wear a veil in public faces a year in prison and a $43,000 fine — and fines are steeper if the person being forced to wear a veil is a minor. Muslim students are already banned from wearing headscarves in classrooms.
At least two women were taken in by police yesterday for daring to cover their faces with Islamic veils in public and a 27-year-old woman received the country’s first-ever fine for wearing a veil. Keep reading »
French Lady Not Sorry For Her “Burqa Rage” And Ripping The Veil Off A Muslim Woman
“Burqa rage.” Never heard of it before? Me neither. Women being forced to wear burqas does makes me upset. But a 63-year-old French woman, known only as Marlene, took things too far when she attacked a woman who chose to wear a body-covering veil while furniture shopping in a Paris suburb. When Marlene saw the victim, known only as Shaika, 26, perusing a department store in a burqa, she asked the Muslim woman to disrobe. “I told her to take off the veil she had on her face,” she said. “I grabbed and pulled it.” Shaika refused to remove her burqa and Marlene allegedly began hitting her, successfully pulling off the veil and biting Shaika’s hand in the process. “Now I can see your face,” she allegedly shouted. Keep reading »
Today’s Lady News: Disneyland Says Muslim Woman Has To Wear A Disney-Designed Veil
- A University of Illinois student recruited for an internship at Disneyland has been told she is allowed to wear a hijab veil for her job, but it must be one designed by Disney. Noor Abdallah, 22, was told this week she could wear a headscarf with a blue Disney beret on it; unfortunately, her internship is now over. The Council for American-Islamic Relations said Disney has been involved in numerous disputes with Muslim women this year. [UPI]
- Eleven women were among the 23 peeps to win MacArthur “Genius” grants, which provide $500K annually for five years to encourage brilliant individuals to keep working. Jessie Little Doe Baird, a Native American linguist, is one of those lucky ladies. [New York Times, AOL News]
- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said last night that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will be gone by the end of the year. It will just be a said memory” — despite the fact that it died in the Senate last week. [Metro Weekly]
Today’s Lady News: Disneyland Says No Muslim Veil During Work
- A hostess for a Disneyland Resort restaurant has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after she was told she could not wear a head-covering Muslim veil, the hijab, during work. She was told she could only wear her veil to work if she was “backstage,” or out of the public’s eye. [Los Angeles Times]
- NASA and Mary J. Blige have teamed up to encourage women to start careers in science and technology. For me, “Mary J. Blige” doesn’t bring to mind “astronauts,” but whatever. [Space.com]
- At the current rate pay increases are going, it will take another 57 years for British female managers to earn as much as male managers, according to a new study out of the U.K. Currently, the women managers earn $15,600 a year less, due to men having more seniority and bigger bonuses. [AP]
Today’s Lady News: Bus Driver Refuses Women Wearing Islamic Veils
- A 22-year-old Muslim student was refused a bus ride into London because she was wearing a niqab, which is a face-covering veil. The woman and a friend, who was wearing a hijab veil that covers her head only, claim the driver told them they were a “threat” to passengers. [BBC]
- A new study from the University of Michigan found that African ancestry is linked to a more deadly type of breast cancer called “triple negative,” which contributes to evidence that indicates a genetic link. [Los Angeles Times]
- “Mad Men” is bad for women. Just like Tina Fey and Taylor Swift and probably other things I like, such as kittens and peanut butter cups. [Salon.com's Broadsheet]
Today’s Lady News: France To Fine Women Who Wear Face-Covering Veils In Public
- Today, the French government passed a bill to fine a woman $185 if she wears a face-covering veil in public. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the fine would send a message that it is wrong for women to cover their faces in public, such as with a burqa or niqab. But critics say the “burqa ban” is anti-Muslim and fans the flames of racial tension. [Washington Post]
- Parents took to the school board meeting of Hillsborough County, Florida, yesterday to debate whether Bellamy Elementary in Tampa was right to ask a mother not to breastfeed her 2-year-old in the school lobby, while waiting for her child. Florida law says mothers can breastfeed their children in public, but the school says it needs to maintain order. [St. Petersburg Times]
- Louisiana’s state senate passed a bill yesterday requiring that a women receives an ultrasound before she has an abortion and that she hears an explanation of the fetus’ development. The original bill was amended to allow women to decline to view the ultrasound screen. The bill now heads to Louisiana’s House. [NOLA.com]
Today’s Lady News: French Muslim Woman Fined For Driving While Veiled
- A French Muslim woman received a $29 fine from police in Nantes, France, for wearing a veil while driving a car. Police say the body-covering veil — called a niqab, which only had slits at her eyes — restricted her vision and could have caused an accident. However, the 31-year-old woman’s lawyer said this is part of a larger campaign by the French government to place restrictions on Muslims, which some say is religious discrimination. [BBC]
- A California appeals court has blocked director Roman Polanski‘s attempt to block his extradition to the United States from Switzerland, where he is under house arrest. Months ago, Polanski was arrested after 33 years as a fugitive from justice for raping a teenaged girl. Polanski only served 27 days in jail in 1977 for the incident. [New York Times]
- Sarah Jessica Parker is going to narrate the “American Women: Fashioning a National Identity” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The exhibit looks at all the changes in women’s clothing from 1890 until 1940. [NYmag.com]
