This week stress on female virginity is put on blast, a women’s rights book is allowed onto Malaysian shelves, and the burqa debate continues in France and Denmark.
The Sydney Morning Herald published an opinion piece lambasting religious circles’ emphasis on female virginity. The piece used the example of the challenges that Muslim women face because of such emphasis, especially when marrying into cultures that look for blood on the newlywed’s sheets as proof of the bride’s chastity.
In Malaysia, the Associate Press reported that a Malaysian court overturned a government ban on a book by a Muslim women rights group Sisters in Islam. Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism was initially banned because it was found to be a threat to public stability and a misinterpretation of Islam. The book questioned whether Islamic polygamy and divorce laws were discriminatory against women.
In Paris the burqa ban debate continues as the French parliament debated over legislation that would ban the full face covering in public spaces. The New York Times wrote that there is ongoing discussion over the Constitutionality of such a law.
Dawn published a story that in Denmark new legislation is proposed that will prohibit women from being forced to wear the burqa and make it mandatory for women to uncover their faces when giving testimony in court. Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen issued a statement that “The burka and the niqab have no place in Danish society and the government is determined to combat this view of humanity and women.”
Rabea Chaudhry is Associate Editor of Altmuslimah.
