A Question of Freedom

This is a letter submitted by Ms. Bell to a local paper:

A head scarf should pose no threat to anyone. Those who force women to wear it are those who should be punished, not the woman who wear the hijab as a part of their faith. I agree that everyone should have their face visible government ID and such, but when simply going for a walk, there should be no restrictions on what anyone can wear. If one law abolishes the viel, that is only the beginning of the invasion of human rights. This is not only a response to the new French law, but also a message to those who wish to see this law imposed in Canada. I am Canadian. I was born in Ottawa and was brought up in Canadian culture. I am a Muslim convert (me:!!!!!WHY!!!???) and, as such, I see both sides of the argument. I wear the hijab proudly as a symbol of my faith. Many people see the viel as a way to control women. They argue that we live in a modern society where women are free. That is true and for that I am grateful, but if we force woman to take off their hijab or niqab (me: or burka!), are we not as bad as those who force it upon them?

So that's the letter I came across this morning. Do you agree? Here are some reasons why I don't.
Okay, I understand her whole "freedom of choice" argument, and I agree that everyone should be allowed to wear what they want outside the workplace or government office, but I don't think it's the actual head scarf that is being examined; it's the message. Here's a scenario. A man is walking down the street in a gray T-shirt. Totally fine. But the T-shirt says, "All females are bitches." Then I don't really think it's okay. He's not breaking the law or anything, but a lot of people would be offended enough to want to make him take that shirt off and never wear it again.

Wearing scarfs on your head isn't only a Muslim thing, and has never been a problem. We don't give the old lady with a scarf to keep her curls in a stink eye because she's covering her hair. It is simply an issue of morals and equality. Maybe if we didn't know that if a Muslim woman is caught without her head dress on she can legally be stoned to death or shot, then we might not have such an opinion about it. The swastika was a very popular and used symbol, but put it up today and what is the first thing you'll think of?

Personally, I disagree with any kind of choice to follow any kind of religion at all, but I understand that others can't seem to live their own lives without a Karan or Bible, so it's impossible for someone like me to be like, "Forget about it, religion is stupid and hypocritical anyway!" and expect everyone to go along. The hijab is a symbol of their religion, and many Muslim woman would argue that they wear it for God, not their husbands! (But they do like to avoid the inevitable beating they'll get sans head gear.) But, and this was VERY recently, a teenage girl was MURDERED by her brother and father for not wanting to wear the hijab anymore in Toronto. So, no longer is this a question of choice, but of immense and dangerous pressure being put on the females of this religion. So, as much as we'd all love to think the woman in the burka walking down the street isn't living in constant fear from the men of her family, there's a much bigger chance that he is compared to a woman in a sundress. The burka and the hijab will never be seen to us as something harmless as long as we're educated on it's influence. And personally, I find it just as offense, if not more, than an "Every woman is a bitch" shirt.