Breasts and Veils

We were talking about The Veil today at work, and the possibility of a ban.  I work in a school, so we were discussing the practicalities, such as identifying whether a student sitting a GCSE exam was who she claimed to be, under a full burkha.  I failed to see any problem. We ask for a forefinger print scan for children to use as ID to pay for school lunches; why not extend it to exams?  Only those who refused would have to identify themselves by other means.

Then I began to see the double standards behind this proposed edict.  Western societies have dress codes too.  We ask that women cover themselves - their breasts, that is - in public.  Baring these dangerous commodities could constitute a breach of the peace if anyone objected.  Yet men, regardless of the contours of their torso, are permitted to walk around bare chested if they so choose, without fear of penalty other than a ban based on the dress code of a particular establishment (which would, I presume, also ban topless women).

So, we have established that western societies have equally unreasonable dress codes for women only.  The difference lies merely in the part of the body that only women must cover up, that men may flaunt with impunity.  Certain Islamic sects say it is the hair or face. The West says it is the breasts.  Both are equally unfair to women. Both are equally unreasonable in any real sense, other than the prejudices of the rest of society.

And there is something particularly unreasonable about the requirement for women to cover their torso whilst men can display theirs; a woman's breasts have a use; a point to their existence. They are the natural founts of sustenance for newborn babies, and nutritionally beneficial for all babies up to about two years old.  Men's chests have no use whatsoever, and very few are even decorative.

There's an excellent poem about the problems faced by breastfeeding mothers. Thought-provoking and entertaining, I recommend it to you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiS8q_fifa0

So, when our Government is considering if and to what extent Islamic veils should be banned; let them look to their own house first.  On hot summer days there are sights forced into my field of vision that no-one should have to encounter: sweaty bare-chested man boobs, while women whose breasts are their child's source of nutrition, or whose torsos might be considered "worth a look" (and I don't include myself here), are forced to cover up.

Double standards? Absolutely!