Yesterday I went out at lunch while thinking about these exchanges on Futurework. It is very hot in Ottawa at this time and women are dressed in a wide variety of ways. Lots of fashion. Lots of glitz. I noticed a Moslem women with the burka. She seemed to be looking at the ways in which the other women were dressed. I noticed interest not revulsion in her expression.
As you would say, anecdotal. The issue is choice. I really don't have to TALK to a burda'ed Muslim woman to know that they lack choice. arthur -----Original Message----- From: Lawrence de Bivort [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2002 2:31 PM To: Christoph Reuss; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: Sociology/Victimology 101 (was Re: Women love the burka!) Well,it is a delight to see another white western male so knowledgeable about these matters. So, to my rapidly expanding list of questionees, I ask Chris: Have YOU EVER talked with a veiled/covered/burka'ed Muslim women about these matters? And, have you ever talked with a Catholic covered woman, nun (or monk, for that matter) about these matters? If the answer is 'no,' Chris, I suggest you do so before pronouncing yourself with such absolutist vehemance on these matters. I know that you have a penchant for denying the validity of what anyone says (including Muslim women) that contradicts your firmly-held views of the world, but your dismissal of what the very people you are making your judgments about say about their own experience of life, is risable. > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Christoph > Reuss > Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2002 7:40 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Sociology/Victimology 101 (was Re: Women love the burka!) > > > Lawry deBivort wrote: > > Have you ever asked a nun or a catholic woman whether they feel > oppressed > > when they wear 'habit' or cover themselves? > > Becoming a nun or being/remaining a catholic is a _choice_. > Getting born in Afghanistan is _not_ a choice (and staying there often > isn't a choice either). > So the former group is much more likely to like their dressing code. > In statistics it's called self-selection. > > > > Barbara Walters did a special on women in Saudi Arabia, and > focused, as she > > would, on the veil. Among the five women she interviewed, several were > > pro-veil. But this is just another anecdote... > > Few victims want to admit that they are being victimized, > especially if they > have been brainwashed all their life, and if they know that their > statement > is public (and can be heard by their oppressors, who then might > take action > against the "whistleblowers"). Some sort of "Stockholm syndrome"... > > So, when "several were pro-veil", does that mean that they _really_like_ > the burqa (which BTW is much more than a veil) ? Of course not! > > Chris > >
