Muslim veil
Pakistani comedian under fire for 'Burqa Woman' video
“Burqa woman, with your sexy feet”, croons the male singer, to the unforgettable tune of Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman”. The video parody is a YouTube hit, but has earned the comedian some hate mail from angry Islamists. Read more and watch the video…
Saudi woman speaks out: "I agree with France. Let’s ban the full veil!"
A young Saudi blogger from Riyadh told us why she opposes women anywhere in the world wearing the full Islamic veil - and why she supports a French bill aiming to ban it from public places. Read more...
Burqa debate: "Forget national identity, it’s about women’s rights”
Despite a warning from France's top legal body that a ban on full veils would be vulnerable to legal challenges, some members of the ruling UMP party are continuing to push for a bill. Meanwhile, in Belgium, MPs have voted to prohibit wearing clothes that impede identification, in a move aimed directly at the burqa. Read more...
Could they accept "sexy burqa" ad in France?
French MP Jean-François Copé explained on Thursday that police officers will be asking women to remove their full veil on the street or else receive a fine under the proposed "burqa ban". So what would the French do with this German lingerie ad - which depicts the veil as something far from a religious restraint for women? Read more and see the clip...
Iran humiliates student protestor in women’s clothing
One of the students behind Monday's Student Day protest in Iran has appeared dressed as a woman on the Fars state news agency website. The website quotes him admitting that he dressed as a woman to try to avoid being arrested by the police. Something hard to believe, according to one of our Observers. Read more...
Dubai's hot new trend – burqa-shaped sunglasses
The first branded sunglasses to come from Dubai have gone down a storm in the United Arab Emirates. Not only are they made with real gold, but they're shaped like the traditional burqa from the region. Read more...
Egypt’s biggest Islamic university bans the niqab
During a visit to a secondary school a few weeks ago, Egypt's highest Sunni authority came across a teenager wearing the full veil. Flabbergasted, he humiliated the girl, asking her "Why wear the niqab in a class full of girls?!" He then forced her to remove it. Read more...
Marwa Sherbini murder: Egyptians mourn the “headscarf martyr”
A shocking incident in which an Egyptian woman was stabbed to death in a German courtroom has provoked outrage in her home country. The young mother, pregnant with her second child, was killed by the very man she was bearing witness against, himself in court for making Islamophobic insults. Read more...
“Nobody forces me to wear the full veil, it’s my choice”
The French parliament has launched an inquiry into how many women wear head-to-toe Islamic veils in France. President Nicolas Sarkozy used the occasion to spell out that "the burqa is not welcome in France", leading to concerns that he would ban it in public places. A French Muslim explains to us why she chooses to wear the sitar - the Saudi full-face cover - and why Sarkozy's comments frighten her. Read more...
