Should Britain ban the Burka - Essay Example

Should Britain Ban The Burka? Introduction The burka, as commonly known, is a female outer garment worn as an overall to what is considered normal casual or business wear. The burka whose origin is from Afghanistan is widely worn by Muslim women, both young and old. The face portion of the burka is usually in rectangular form of semi transparent cloth material attached to the headscarf, which can be overturned if the woman wishes to show her face while in the presence of someone. In Afghanistan where the wearing of the burka developed, it is compulsory for all women to wear the burka while in public, and it is considered a crime for a woman not to wear it while in public. Even though the Quran has no requirements to cover oneself completely, many Muslims associate the act of covering oneself completely as an act of worship and respect according to the words of prophet Muhammad. These required women and men to dress modestly while in public (Silvestri, 2013, 66). Islamic scholars and many Islamic communities have exaggerated these words where some tend to agree with the statement while others tend to refute the statement of covering oneself entirely while in the presence of society, hence allowing room for more debate on the matter. Human Rights Human rights are moral principles considered normal standards of human behavior. Such human rights include the right to dress in any way a person may so wish, and considered as a cultural norm amongst the larger population of society. This is an example of human rights protected as legal rights both on a national and international level of human rights law (Dr.Pastorelli. 2013). Thus, such a right is a fundamental right, a right that a person is entitled to from birth by simply being a human being. Therefore, human rights are universal laws. Thus, by understanding what human rights are, one gets to understand that, as a living human being of sound mind, one’s human rights remain intact even when it comes to the code of dressing. This being the case, it is every human’s right to dress in whatever way he or she chooses. Dressing is a person’s human right. As far as I am concerned every single day, we as humans wake up and dress ourselves up because the laws of the government. Moreover, international laws do not specify the type of dress code worn by people when in public. This being the case the burka does well falls under the human rights act when it comes to dressing (Dr.Pastorelli, 2013). This being said the burka is a form of dressing, which is widely accepted amongst the Islamic religion as well as Islamic nations. The burka found its origin from Afghanistan, considered an Islamic country due to the large population of Islamists in the region. This being the case, the burka is an Islamic form of dressing for the women. Therefore, the burka which is not only considered an Islamic form of dressing but a form of worship amongst some Islamists, one could argue that denying one to dress in the burka is not only infringing on one’s right to not only dress how they so wish but also denying one’s right to worship in a manner befitting there God. Hence, one cannot invoke such laws as they are every human’s right. One could also ask if an individual cannot invoke such rights, then why it would be wrong and unlawful for one to run naked in the streets if dressing were one’s human right. Well, simply put, walking around in the streets while naked is a form of uncouth behavior and unacceptable to the larger population of society therefore the law has the right to take lawful action against people with such type of behavior. In Europe, countries such as France who were the first to ban the dressing of the burka while in public created the path and route for countries such as Britain to also pass a law on whether the burka should be allowed to be worn while in public (Arabiya, 2013). The burka has faced steep opposition from its government as well as society in the larger parts of Britain, thus making it a widely debated issue in Britain as well as a matter of national and international interest. Concerning the burka, Prime Minister David Cameron related his view concerning it and suggested that institutions should place their own mandate on the matter and should not wait for the government to make any warranted laws that would infringe on the rights of an individual’s choice of grooming. In his statement, he continued to say that he does support the ban of the burka in institutions and schools as well (Mercury, 2013, 65). Declaring Britain a Christian country and that such a view should be respected as well no matter the majority of Muslims wearing the burka in Britain, and said that when Christian women visit Islamic countries they respect their views and beliefs by wearing head scarf’s and should also do the same while in a Christian country. The issue of the burka was widely felt after a known terrorist fled the country dressed in the burka after committing crimes against humanity. Among the larger populations of Britons, signing of petitions has taken place fueled by citizens of the country asking the government to forbid on the burka since human interactions are made from being able to notice facial expressions while interacting with the society. From a humans rights perspective, it is my opinion that it would not be just to ban wearing the burka as it infringes the right of a person to dress as they wish (Bowen, 2008). Security Reasons The burka is a security threat as well, and this is true, giving an example of Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed who managed to escape from a mosque in Acton by disguising himself in a burka. From this case, there is the argument that the burka makes it very difficult for police personnel to distinguish individuals when dressed in it. This makes it very difficult as well as time-consuming to be able to know the identity of an individual when conducting an investigation (Gardener, 2014, 56). In Britain alone, fewer than 10% use the burka hence the burn of the type of clothing would not affect the major majority of those affected by the ban of the garment. Therefore, the government would be within its mandate to burn the burka in Britain since most Britons are Christians and not those considered to be wearing the burka while in public (Baig, 2010, 77). In the example of Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, it is evident that due to the burka, authorities were not able to retrace his steps. This would be one example of how the burka deserves a burn in modern day Britain and the downwards trend not forgetting the repercussions it brings about when looking at the effect it has on security (Shipman, 2013, 56). In the airports, certain individuals could evade the country using fake documentation while wearing the burka (Gilliat-Ray.2010). Allowing the burka would be a greater crime because we would have neglected the security of the larger majority not dressed in a burka and thus allowing individuals just like Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed to flee the country as he did (Silvestri, 2013, 59). When it comes to schools as well as other learning institutions the burka is to be burned because this would also allow the opportunity for students to cheat in their exams buy having other students dress in the burka and have them seat for an exam on behalf of someone else without the knowledge of the teacher (Gilliat-Ray, 2010). Thus, allowing this to be a cultural norm in learning institutions would not really allow the teacher to know the students well or even be sure that the student under the burka would be the student expected to be (Khan, 2014, 67). Education systems could also look at it in a way where it would knowingly know that as students one of the many as to why we have education is learning to communicate and be able to read facial expressions in order to understand one’s character as well as behavior. The burka does not give room for one to be able to read facial expressions of the other thus making it a hindrance to communication to the larger society as well and not only in learning institution (Pandya, 2011, 56). Conclusion Many Muslims around the globe have sided with the fact that the burka should not be a religious requirement when in public and that the notion is completely over exaggerated. For instance, in countries such as Saudi Arabia the only law passed in regards to clothing is that a woman should have her hair covered by the wearing of the hijab while in public (Ibrahim, 2008, 46). There is no law where a woman whether a practicing Muslim or not is required to dress in a burka while in public (Pearson, 2013, 67). Even though Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country it does not insist on the wearing of the burka on religious basis, but only insists on the hijab for both Muslims and none Muslims while in public. This proves that the less than 10% of Muslims in Britain should not be against the ban of the burka, as it should not be an infringement of human rights while in public. Bibliography Arabiya, A. 2013. . UK parliament debates banning the burka. Baig. A. 2010. Ban the Burka? The Sun Bowen, J. R. 2008. Why the French Dont Like Headscarves: Islam, the State, and Public Space. Princeton University Press, New Jersey. Pastorelli, S. 2013. The Burqa Affair across Europe: Between Public and Private Space. Ashgate Publishing. London. Gardener. C. 2014. Burka should be banned in UK, says Ryanair boss. Johnston Publishing Ltd. Gimmers, M. 2013. All Muslim Customers With Burka Ban. Bitterwallet. Gilliat-Ray, S. 2010. Muslims in Britain. Cambridge University Press, Britain. Ibrahim, O. H. 2008. The Myth of the Islamic Headscarf. Lulu.com Jivanda, T. 2013. Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary says ban burkas in UK. The Independent, Britain. Khan, S. 2014. Is it British to Ban the Face Veil? Read More