So my husband works at the IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) now in New York. They work on behalf of veterans as a whole for more benefits, better rights, things like that.
Anyway, they got a video today from a guy who told them that the best way to combat gender inequality in Iraq and Afghanistan would be to send all the women there Western style clothing. He said something to the effect that he was "using his best instincts as a man".
They got a pretty good laugh out of that one, as did I. I think it's been proven time and again that education is the best way to combat these sorts of problems, not forcing women to wear short shorts like Miley Cyrus. In fact, I think that might just get them stoned to death or something. Combating forced morality and dress by going to the extreme opposite is just fighting fire with fire.
I love this photo I found, by the way. It's Lil Kim actually, if you were curious. Obviously forced covering of the face is a pretty good way to dehumanize someone. You can't see their facial expressions or communicate with them in the same way that you can with someone whose face you can see. For women who choose to wear a niqab that's fine, it's their choice, but I don't agree with it simply because of the fact that it's representative of the oppression that a lot of women face by being forced into wearing it. At the same time, I read a study a few months ago which explained that heterosexual men who viewed images of women in bikinis didn't recognize them so much as human beings but as objects. Women need to be allowed to make their own choices and wear what they feel comfortable in, not told what they should wear because it looks sexy or makes them a more moral or pious person.
