Burquas Give Muslims Too Much Cover
Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 25, 2006

By Mary Grabar 

            It's not often that I get a scare in the grocery store.  But the person ahead of me in line looked suspicious, so I stepped over to the next check-out.

            The person who scared me turned out to be a pregnant woman expecting her sixth child.  I generally am not scared by pregnant women waiting to pay for groceries. 

            But I was not aware of these facts until I overhead her chatting with the cashier.  In fact, dressed as she was, in a full black burqa with only a slit for her eyes, and because she was a large woman to begin with, the thought had flitted through my mind that this person could be up to no good. 

            The burqa provides a more complete disguise than a ski mask or a stocking over the face.  The person wearing it has her identity obliterated.  It hides the body, and thus the sex of the wearer. 

Indeed, the woman's pregnancy was hidden from me.  For all I knew, the person standing in front of me was a portly man with a weapon under all that cloth.

            Yet, nothing is done to stop wearing of such attire in public. 

            Imagine a man standing in a ski mask at a check-out in the middle of summer.  His alibi of wearing such attire as a cultural display would not fly with the security guard, I am sure.  Shoppers would be quick to step away.

            Yet, those who dare to criticize such dress by women from Muslim countries are disparaged as culturally insensitive, or worse.

            This is what happened to Jack Straw, leader of the UK's House of Commons, when he dared to suggest on a BBC radio program that Muslim women should reconsider wearing the veil.  This suggestion brought about protests and calls for him to resign.  Reportedly, Haleema Hussein, of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee of the U.K., said that Straw"shouldn't be allowed to comment on these kinds of issues."   This is a Muslim issue, according to Hussein.

            In my neighborhood, I regularly see the odd sight of women in head scarves behind the wheels of cars.  But with their faces exposed they are identifiable.  In fact, compared to the cleavage that assaults me on a daily basis in the classroom and in public places, such modesty is refreshing.

            Yet, one wonders why, if we would not hesitate to apprehend a masked man entering a bank or other place of business, we allow women dressed like this to enter? 

            Straw, in an interview, expressed his discomfort with talking to a woman in a full veil, and explained the obvious: Much of our communication comes by facial expression. 

Western women traveling to certain Muslim countries are still expected to adopt those countries' dress codes and cover up. 

But those who live in Western countries and enjoy Western freedoms--such as shopping--also have responsibilities.  Those responsibilities should include revealing one's face for identification in public places. 

If a Muslim man does not allow his wife or daughter to adapt to our Western culture to the point where she shows her face, then he should do the grocery shopping.