A lot of Muslim ladies are actually -quite- fashionable under the burkas.

I met a high-end Kuwaiti fashion designer, and she showed me her work. It was very hoochie mama, vegas-showgirl type stuff. I asked where they wore these dresses. Weddings. Apparently weddings are sex-segregated and the Kuwaiti women dance around in $10k stripperesque outfits.

It got me thinking. While I could imagine wearing tarty clothes in front of guys (heck, I clubbed at the goth and fetish clubs), I would NEVER wear something like that in front of my grandmother!

We're age-segregated, they're sex-segregated.

I don't mean to imply I think stripper outfits are fashionable.

A lot of Arab women I've met wear high-end labels under the burkas. They also tend to wear gaudy make-up and too much gold jewelry, though. Arab fashion is more flamboyant than American, apparently.

The only thing missing is the husbands all standing in a row on the stage because the woman wasn't allowed to leave the house without him.

-Julie

Wait, burkas don't have sleeves???

Not in the most traditional environs, no. Actually the traditional burkas have a veil over the eyes so that no one can see them. so the ones shown were 'liberal' burkas.

-Julie

hahahaha - that was PRICELESS!!

I knew that ol' Bill is smug, but who knew that fashion could be so political?

I have seen and heard reports from Muslim women who said that they feel protected and liberated by the covering of their charms in public, safe from the unwelcome gaze of strange men who, as Amy frequently reminds us, are highly visual creatures when it comes to sexual response. They are able to leave the "eye-hunger" part of sex in their private bedrooms, and to reserve it for someone with whom they have an intimate relationship, aren't they?

Should women who profess to like the burka and the protection and privacy it offers be subject to criticism from Western women who consider it liberated to wear f-me pumps, a mini-skirt (commando if she is "naughty"), and a bra-less halter or tube top while doing their grocery shopping? Why should Western, feminist ideology be forced on women in other cultures -- women whose families, and personal modesty, are, unlike American women's, still largely intact? Women complain about the demeaning "objectification" of women in advertising in the U.S. No such thing occurs in Muslim countries, does it?

Will those women's lives be transformed for the better when they start wearing the "hoochie mama" outfits while out for a stroll? They don't seem to think so, but hey, their opinions don't count, apparently.

(I can hardly wait for the dissembling "what about Sharia punishments?!!" comments. Let's focus on the burka, shall we?)

In general it's bad to force someone to do something that they don't want to do. That means it's bad to force someone to wear a burka and it's bad to force them to not wear a burka.

Women can dress very modestly without running around in a head-to-toe sheath in the middle of a desert. Additionally, most women who wear a burka don't actually have a CHOICE.

If I choose to dress modestly, it's because I want to, not because my husband, or my father, or the religous police, are forcing me to.

I can see Jay R is up to his usual reactionary paleo-con ways.

Crusader,

I know you don't like what I say, so you tell me you don't like me. I get it. Too bad you can't express a cogent opposing viewpoint. Although it is somewhat painful to watch your efforts, you nonetheless should keep up your attempts to say something in the least bit meaningful. Maybe some day you will be able to add something of interest to the discussion.

Good luck!

"...and it's bad to force them to not wear a burka."

You're a police officer in charge of security at a public event. Tell me you want anonymous people there.

A burqa - ideal garb for a suicide bomber, regardless of gender.