Question

Submitted by TruthWFree (United States), Jun 9, 2009 at 23:55

It seems to me that if it is indeed respect, then each culture should respect the other. From the comment about Oriana Fallaci (sp?), maybe that was a precondition for the interview and also true of the Swedish diplomat to Iran (wearing the hijab was a condition of accepting her appointment by the clerics). This would make it political gamesmanship.

We will never know if Muslim women leaders coming to the west will respect our culture by not wearing the hijab as there are no Muslim women leaders (except for the woman in Pakistan (Bhutta sp?)that was murdered). And since we are free in the West and allow almost any dress, then a Muslim woman would not be asked to not wear the hijab (whether she was a leader or not).

The same would be true for men. George Bush did not wear a turban in Saudi Arabia nor did Yasser Arafat not wear a turban at Camp David, so why should women be different?

My inclination is that these Western women leaders are doing nothing for women's rights in their actions and may be furthering the second class status of women in these countries. These women are being submissive to the culture which is Islam, something they would never submit to in the free West unless under force.

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