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Burqa: Human Right or Human Wrong?

2014; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 39; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1177/1037969x1403900406

2398-9084

Farinaz Zamani Ashni, Paula Gerber,

Migration, Health and Trauma

The 2014 police raids on the homes of suspected ISIS supporters in Sydney and Brisbane, in response to concerns that they were planning to kidnap and behead random members of the public, has once again seen the Islamic community at the centre of attention. The spotlight has been on highly visible symbols of Islam, in particular, the facial coverings worn by some Muslim women. This is evident from Senator Jacqui Lambie's campaign to 'ban the burqa' (supported by Pauline Hanson), and Senator Cory Bernardi's vocal opposition to this garment epitomised in his tweet: 'Note burqa wearers in some of the houses raided this morning? This shroud of oppression and flag of fundamentalism is not right in Australia.' Indeed, even our Prime Minister has stated that he finds the burqa a 'fairly confronting form of attire and frankly I wish it weren't worn.' For some Australians, it appears that the sight of a woman fully covered from head to toe, is deeply disturbing.