It seems that French Government and Opposition politicians, far from supporting liberty, equality and fraternity and the rights of man, woman and the citizen,are engaged in a squalid competition to insult, harass and persecute Moslems, publicly humiliate Moslem women, whilst trumpeting their own moral rectitude. In doing so, those politicians deserve the contempt of mankind.
Hitherto France has had a policy of laissez faire regarding beachwear, and over the years I’ve seen some very fair, even arresting, sights by her coasts. Nowhere have I seen “Morality Police” nor evidence of a public clamour for them. Some sights I would prefer to forget, such as one I saw at St Tropez, where I exited the water about thirty yards along from where I had entered it and beheld perhaps a score of unclad women in a posture suggesting they were awaiting gynaecological examination.
Walking a few miles further along the coast there were little nooks and corners where it is customary for close men friends to chill out in couples in their birthday suits. Nothing to scare the horses, and if that’s how they like it, good luck to them.
There are some amusing sights also by some river banks such as stark naked men, solemnly fishing from the rocks. You wonder what sort of fish might be tempted to bite.
It might be no harm for French politicians and those who wish well to the French people to visit First World War graveyards and take note of the headstones embossed with the Islamic Crescent and the legend “MORT POUR LA FRANCE”
The hijab offends many people because it symbolises something which is deeply disturbing about so many predominately muslim countries and it centres on the status of women. The wearing of the hijab is an obligation and the penalties for non compliance are grave. So the symbolism of this form of dress is highly political. Look at photographs from Iran and Afghanistan in the 60s women had some freedoms as to how they dressed, now they have none. It has been promoted as something which is ‘true to Islam’ and therefore anti Western. This form of dress has very little to do with modesty, if it did then the men would be wearing it, it is a political statement not a fashion statement. It is used to control women and to define them entirely in terms of their gender/sexuality. Women are not treated equally in these societies, they are anonymous and powerless.I dont know if banning the burkini is the best thing for French society but wearing the hijab is far more than just a fashion choice.
well said,the burka ban will be coming here shortly and the sooner the better,
gretta
I broadly agree with what you are saying,but watching police compel a woman to remove items of clothing in public view does not convince me that it is the right way to go.
Does it not bother you?
Of course it bothers me I thought it was a crass thing to do and utterly counter productive. The broader issue is about the control of women through dress, one of the criticisms I have read about the woman on the beach is that no ‘true’ Muslim would go to the beach unaccompanied by a male/nor would she ‘display’ herself in mixed company. The Burkini is the least of the problems facing French society.
Two of the sickest sights of the last few days are those of armed police stripping unoffensive women of their clothes, and the selfies posted on the internet of a young woman boasting that she was on the way to or from having her child deliberately killed.
“Feminists” of whatever gender who applaud either are traitors to the human race.